


Cry Havoc

by bltbackwards



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: A crack fic that got out a hand, Alex can't stop blushing, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/F, Kara just wants her sister to be happy, Maggie has 99 problems and Alex is all of them, aka the story of my life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 20:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9200216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bltbackwards/pseuds/bltbackwards
Summary: Alex Danvers has been a werewolf for six years now, but just discovered she is gay. Maggie Sawyer has known she was gay since the 1st grade, but just discovered she is a werewolf. They both have a lot to teach each other, all while combating the mysterious threat of Cadmus.OR the one where it’s Sanvers in an obligatory werewolf AU... I have no shame.





	1. Under the Full Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taking place in a wibbly wobbly, timey wimey AU period roughly spanning episodes 2x02 to 2x08... because there are never enough werewolf AUs and I love these two dorks.

“You sure you’ll be fine?”  
  
“For the hundredth time, yes, Kara. I’ve done this before.”  
  
“But...”  
  
“Just go have your date! You’re not going to get a chance like this for a while.”  
  
“But last time...”  
  
“That was years ago. C’mon, my little sister deserves to relax once and a while.”  
  
“Okay, but you better call me... or, wait you won’t be able to... just shout really loud. Or... shoot, you can’t do that either...”  
  
“Kara, relax. I’ve spent years doing this. I’ll be fine. Go have fun.”  
  
“Alright,” conceded Kara’s still unconvinced voice. “Love you, Alex.”  
  
“Love you too.” Alex ended the call and let her phone clatter to the kitchen table. She would be lying if the thought of facing her transformation alone tonight didn’t scare her. But she’d trained long and hard for this moment, pushing the physical limits of both her forms, determined to master her condition.  
  
Alex ran her fingers through her hair a few times and glanced at her watch. Three hours to moonrise. “You’re Alex Danvers,” she said, staring down a random spot in the kitchen. “A respected DEO agent, Supergirl’s older sister, and a seasoned werewolf.” Alex exhaled hard. “You’ll survive this.”

* * *

  
Detective Maggie Sawyer tapped her pen repeatedly against the case file she was pouring over. She had been chasing the same dead ends, over and over again, for the entire day. Her frustration was through the roof, the agitations of the day finally compounding into a barely containable rage.  
  
This morning she was woken up early to her neighbors blaring their TV, then the coffee maker was broken, producing an inconsumable tar. She could’ve chalked it up to a bad morning, but Detective Tom _freaking_ Harris decided to come to work drenched in cologne, to the point where it caused a slight, yet pervasive headache, even though he sat at the other end of the bullpen. And now she can’t find any new leads, and—Maggie scratched at the bandages hiding a row of stitches on her forearm. And now her arm itched like there was no tomorrow.  
  
“You’re awfully twitchy today, Sawyer,” commented her partner, Detective Poole, from across the desk. “You, uh, didn’t do a line when I wasn’t looking? You do know that’s against the law.”  
  
Maggie scoffed and rolled her eyes. “It’s just been a crap day.” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.  
  
“Here, here,” assented the other detective. “Wish we could’ve caught this bastard today.” Maggie nodded emphatically. “But it’s late now. Go rest up, Sawyer. Get a fresh pair ‘a eyes on it tomorrow.”  
  
“And let you take all the credit when you miraculously solve the case only minutes after I leave? Keep on dreaming.”  
  
“I’m as lost as you are,” grinned Poole. “Look, I’m just finishing up some routine paperwork, then I’m out the door.” Maggie raised an eyebrow. “Scouts honor.”

* * *

  
Alex turned up the radio in her car. One hour ‘till moonrise. She could feel her skin itch. Her entire being trembled, straining to give in and transform. Alex took a deep breath in, counting to ten, then out, counting down from ten.  
  
She’d driven out of the city and into the woods in a place she knew no one frequented. A place she had completed her transformation before. But always under the watchful eye of her sister. This time... the agent shook her head. No, this time will be fine, just like all the others.  
  
Over the years, Alex had learned to control the shiftings, to deny them and even incur them willingly. It was a painstaking process of slowly learning to separate her wolf brain from her human, honing her self-control. The full moon always put the ultimate strain on her discipline.  
  
These last few months she suppressed the change under the moon. Her work, and subsequently the safety of National City, required her to be human. But the wolf inside could not be denied forever.  
  
She tried to mitigate the burning in her limbs to shift and run with feral abandon by forcing a transformation during her off hours. It only served to release small amounts of steam from the gasket that was about to blow. Alex needed a complete night under the full moon.  
  
The agent thrummed her finger on the steering wheel, her whole body hummed with energy. She couldn’t wait any longer. Alex switched off the ignition and stuffed the keys in the jockey box. She stepped out of the car and breathed in the crisp night air. Her senses were working overtime, human ones becoming more acute as the wolf vied for control.  
  
Alex shivered as she stripped out of her clothes. She double checked the hide-a-key was stowed safely under her car and that there was no one around before undressing entirely and stuffing everything into a backpack. She draped a blanket around her shoulders and locked the car before wandering further into the woods, relishing the feeling of dirt between her toes.

* * *

  
Maggie pushed the speed limit on her motorcycle ride home. She was the police, speeding tickets be damned. The cool night air did nothing to assuage the burning restlessness that had settled in her heart. Normally a long ride would clear her head, but this time it didn’t feel like it even scratched the surface of her problems.  
  
The detective stopped by her apartment building and paused. There was no way she’d get any rest in this state.  
  
Maggie let out a frustrated sigh and re-buckled her helmet, a quick ride around the city should do her good. She scratched furiously at the bandages covering her arm. And maybe these damn stitches would give her some relief as well.

* * *

  
Alex chanced a look up at the sky once she felt she was sufficiently far enough in the forest. The moon was nearly at its zenith, and she was ready to jump out of her skin—literally.  
  
The agent took a deep breath and embraced the burning, stretching feeling in the pit of her gut. The wolf gnashed at its muzzle, pulling, straining to break free. Alex closed her eyes and took one final human breath.  
  
And let the leash break.

* * *

  
Maggie wasn’t sure how or why she ended up this far out of town and into the woods. She did know one thing for certain: the cut on her arm burned like a bitch.  
  
The detective had driven straight and fast out of the city and didn’t stop until the poorly paved one-lane road turned to gravel, not traversable by motorcycle. Today was adding up to be a very strange one.  
  
Maggie absent mindedly picked at her bandages, fingers itching to grab a cigarette from her emergency stash hidden away in her bag. Actually, it wasn’t just her fingers that itched, her whole body tingled. Maggie frowned, confused at the swell of nausea and adrenaline that crashed through her.  
  
The detective slid down to her knees, not trusting how suddenly faint she felt. She quickly tossed aside her helmet, desperate to grab fresh air, clawing at the zipper to her jacket in the process. _Oh, god, was she having a panic attack? Cardiac arrest? Shit. Fuck. Was she going to die in the middle of the forest for her colleagues in homicide to find? Oh god. Fuck. Was Holly Westford, the very beautiful medical examiner, going to see her naked?_

  
Her breathing became labored, heart straining in its own confines. Maggie shed her jacket, the fabric feeling too constricting. The world seemed to close in on itself and expand all at once. Her vision flickered, sharpening and un-focusing in rapid succession. The smell of damp earth invaded her nostrils. She could swear the air around her crackled with electricity, or was that just her bones? Every perceivable thing built to a grand crescendo, and then... nothing. Flat, black, nothing.

* * *

  
Alex sprinted through the forest, her large paws thudding rhythmically on the earthen floor. She drank in the myriad of smells and sounds that were lost on her human senses, the whole world bursting at the seams with vitality.  
  
The wolf dashed around trees, playing games with the obstacles. Left, right. Right, right. Full circle. Skid, jump. A flash of boxing practice played in the back portion of her human brain, but it quickly dissipated. It was the wolf’s turn to captain the ship.  
  
The small shred of humanity determined Alex was far enough away from civilization and she released a cheeky howl of joy. The wolf skidded to a stop and leaned back on her haunches, gathering air into her lungs before letting out a long, keening howl skyward. If wolves could smile, Alex would be grinning ear to ear.  
  
A fallen leaf swirling in the wind caught Alex’s attention. She barked playfully at it and pounced, trapping it beneath her massive front paws. Alex lifted her right paw, ready to snap at the trapped vegetation when an unfamiliar scent halted her movements.  
  
Alex lifted her snout and tested the air. The scent was musty, predatory. She swiveled her ears to try and gain more information. A set of pounding paws was all she heard before a mass of chocolate brown fur slammed into her side.  
  
The wolf in Alex took full control, reacting with pure instinct to the attack. She snarled and lashed out with a clawed paw, twisting and baring her teeth down. The offending animal was frightened and uncoordinated, making it weak. Alex easily pinned it down, displaying her teeth near her opponent’s neck. It would just take one bite and.... Alex paused, the pure killer wolf seceding a fraction of slack to her human counterpart.  
  
Alex snorted, her nostrils flaring, filled with something hauntingly familiar, yet uniquely different. A gleam of humanity shone out from underneath the pervading feral cloud of the other animal’s eyes. Alex’s logical brain clicked into gear. It was another werewolf. Her surprise caused Alex to loosen the hold she had, just enough for the other werewolf to squirm free and bolt away.  
  
Alex stood rooted in place, shocked. The last werewolf she met had given her the cursed scratch that turned her this way. She snapped out of her revere and sprinted after the mysterious wolf, snout to the ground.

* * *

  
Alex growled in frustration as the scent she was tracking doubled back yet again. Whoever this other werewolf was, they knew how to not be followed. She sighed. She’d have to continue this search as a human. The familiar tug back to human form had been growing ever stronger with the rising sun. Alex turned back towards the direction of her parked car and ambled along, fog rising in clouds past her sharp canines and lolling tongue.

* * *

  
The first thing Maggie noticed when she awoke was that she was freezing cold. She picked herself off of the forest floor and quickly realized her state of undress accounted for the temperature. Maggie glanced around, thoroughly confused and worried at her predicament. _Was she drugged? Kidnapped?_ She remembers feeling ill, and then... nothing. Her mind was a blur.  
  
Maggie looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted her parked motorcycle in the distance. The detective made her way cautiously towards it, wary of an ambush.  
  
Seeing no immediate danger, and her items in tact: backpack slung over her bike, keys and wallet still present—except for her clothes, now in tatters. The detective opened a compartment under the seat and pulled out a change of clothes she keeps for late nights at the office, or more times than she cares to admit, one night stands.  
  
Whatever happened was insanely bizarre. How did one even call this incident in? Maggie took a steadying breath. She’d figure this out later, but for now she was absolutely starving.

* * *

  
Alex shifted back into human form and dressed quickly. She glanced down at her phone and sighed as just the entirety of her notifications were from Kara. She called up her sister from the Bluetooth in her car and started to make her way back home.  
  
“Alex! Thank Rao you’re okay. I was so worried!”  
  
“Everything went fine, just like I said it would,” the agent paused.  
  
“Except…” Kara pushed.  
  
“Relax, relax. It’s just a new development that I’ll have to investigate on my own time.”  
  
“Oh no, you didn’t...”  
  
“No, no, no,” she quickly admonished.  
  
“Then what, Alex?” whined Kara, drawing the vowels of the agent's name.  
  
“Just... I’ll deal with it, okay? What I want to hear about is that date.”  
  
“Alex, no. You don’t get to hide things from your sister.” The agent rolled her eyes, imagining the pout forming on Kara’s face.  
  
“I... I ran into another werewolf.”  
  
“What? That’s, that’s amazing! Did you meet up with them after, you know, the full moon thing?”  
  
“No, they ran away. But Kara, whoever it was seemed pretty new to it all... or never bothered to discipline their wolf. He or she could pose a real threat if they transformed close to the city.”  
  
“But think, you would have a friend to share this experience with! You could chase squirrels and talk about how awesome fetch is. It’d be like... like your own little pack!”  
  
“Kara, that’s not what…” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose, but couldn’t help but grin at her sister’s antics. “What if they like being a wolf? There are people who would abuse that kind of power. Just... try and help me find them before the next full moon. It’s for the safety of National City, alright?”  
  
Kara huffed. “Fine, you spoil sport.”  
  
“I’m just doing my job. Now how about that date last night?”  
  
“Oh,” started Kara, her excitement fizzling out. “I... Supergirl had to interrupt.”  
  
“I’m so sorry, Kara.”  
  
“Yeah... well maybe it’s for the best. It wasn’t going so well anyways...  but hey, I know how hungry you get after a transformation, so I flew over to your favorite food cart and ordered, like, twenty different things, and then I...”

* * *

  
Maggie Sawyer was ravenous. She pulled into the first open diner there was and promptly ordered pancakes on top of omelets on top of bacon on top of whatever the Number 4 special was. She inhaled the meal(s) and tipped the waiter extra for not saying anything about her extra ordinary appetite or the fact she probably still has leaves in her hair. The detective ducked out of the restaurant as soon as she finished, marking it as a place she could never set foot in again.  
  
Maggie mounted her motorcycle and took off home. She was determined to get to the bottom of whatever strange thing happened to her. She was, after all, a detective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Always love to hear feedback and comments!


	2. Faking It, But Not Quite Making It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 aka that feeling you get when you watch Dora or other educational children shows as an adult and scream: “There, you bloody idiot!” and she goes: “Where?” to which you throw the remote and yell: “It’s right in front of your freaking face you absolute nitwit!”
> 
> Alex and Maggie finish each other's— Sandwiches. And it is also known that Alex secretly loves puns (and so does Maggie). Cue the start of plot!

“All tests came back normal,” stated the doctor. “No trace amounts of drugs or other chemicals, blood panel is all within normal parameters, and you’re in excellent physical condition, Ms. Sawyer.” Maggie nodded, relieved.  
  
“I must ask, though, what prompted you to come in today? If something happened, or you believe there is something that our tests could have missed—”  
  
“Nothing happened,” Maggie lied. “It just felt like it’s been a while since I’ve gotten the full range of tests. You hear so many stories about people not noticing preventable diseases until it’s too late.” Maggie shrugged, trying her best to appear nonchalant.  
  
The doctor raised her eyebrow, but ticked the final boxes on her clipboard before tucking the pen away in her lab coat. “Very well. As your doctor, I’d like to remind you anything said between us is fully confidential and that I only hold your health as my top priority.”  
  
“Thanks, doc, but I’m truly just looking for a check up.”  
  
“Then let me walk you back to the main office,” smiled the doctor. “And I’ll see you in a week to have those stitches removed. That wound on your arm is healing much faster than anticipated.”

* * *

  

Alex growled in frustration, fighting the urge to chuck her keyboard across the room. She had been trying to find any pieces of news that would indicate another werewolf in the area—strange animal attacks, wolf sightings, or anything else suspicious—but she had found absolutely nothing.  
  
During Kara’s lunch break the two Danvers sisters went back to the woods to try and find any evidence of the other werewolf. No luck. Even with Alex’s heightened senses that came after a transformation, they were still ultimately human and any lingering scents were undetectable to her. The agent contemplated shifting again to try and take full advantage of her wolf form, but Kara talked her out of it, insisting that another shift so close to the last would leave Alex hurt and exhausted for days. As much as she hated admitting it, her sister was right.

Agent Danvers thrummed her fingers against the desk, urging her brain to think of other ways to find this werewolf. It was 30 days until the next full moon and Alex had to find the other wolf before then, or their next transformation could be far more dangerous. _Perhaps she could ask Winn to create a program…_ No, only Kara and J’onn knew about her condition and she wasn’t eager to spread that information any further unless absolutely necessary. _Maybe Maggie had some undisclosed cases that…_ Alex stopped herself. Ever since the detective rejected her and asked to just be friends, it was hard to be around her. It was just too painful a reminder. Alex had to get her tumultuous feelings sorted and under control before she spoke to Maggie outside of a forced business setting.  
  
The DEO agent was broken from her thoughts as the radio on her hip crackled to life. “Aggressive alien activity off 9 th and Jacobs.” Alex was already making her way to the control room before the notification ended. She would have to continue the search for the other werewolf later. Work came first, after all.

* * *

 

Maggie groaned as a heavy stack of manila folders was placed on her desk. “I thought we just solved twenty million cases?”  
  
“Crime never sleeps, Sawyer,” remarked her partner from his desk  
  
“Well unlike crime, I require sleep.”  
  
“And here I thought you were some sort of detecting robot superstar that survives on a healthy diet of ones and zeros. Wonders never cease.”  
  
Maggie rolled her eyes and opened the first folder, more annoyed that the current influx of cases prevented her from investigating her strange night in the woods. But a week had passed with a clean bill of health and nothing else had happened since, so she continued to put work first.  
  
The detective leaned back in her chair and immersed herself in the next case of many. Woman found dead in her apartment. Multiple stab wounds. No valuables stolen. Heavy forensic evidence implicating her disgruntled boyfriend. Looked pretty cut and dry so far. _Why was this in the Science Division’s pile?_ Maggie flicked through the pages of photos and reports. _Ah, alien DNA found under the victim’s fingernails._ Maggie continued to page through the file, her hand unconsciously drifted over the now almost healed cut on her forearm every now and then.

* * *

 

“Who called you to _my_ crime scene?” snipped Alex, the edge in her voice sharp. National City Police shouldn’t be here; they shouldn’t even know about this. The DEO was on this case before it even hit the airwaves.  
  
Detective Maggie straightened from her position leaning over the alien body. “Last time I checked aliens in National City was my crime scene.”  
  
“Sawyer,” almost stuttered Alex, caught off guard. “I… I didn’t see you there."  
  
“Obviously,” smirked the detective. Alex almost melted, she swore she had these pesky feelings under control just a minute ago. “So what have you got so far?”  
  
“Circadian, male. Died of overdose of some kind, still unsure at this stage,” reported Alex, easily slipping into her business demeanor"  
  
“Looks like injection marks. Junkie?"  
  
“Unlikely. Too clean, very recent.”  
  
“You can die on your first high.”  
  
“True, but look here,” Alex tapped a pen on the alien’s hand, then arm.  
  
“Scar tissue, abnormal bone lumps… Looks like a bad heal to a break.” Alex nods. Maggie looks at the body thoughtfully, before pulling up the alien’s pant legs a few inches. “Chaffing on the wrists and ankles. That means he was—”  
  
“Probably held captive, yeah. It seems as though he was being used as some sort of lab rat. For what purpose, we don’t know.”  
  
“That must mean there are other test subjects. And how close is this person or group to achieving their goal?” Maggie wondered aloud.  
  
“I’m running lab tests on his blood and having forensics search for any physical evidence of his captor or captors. Results should come back in a few hours and maybe then we’ll be able to see what goal his they hoped to achieve.”  
  
Maggie nodded. “I’ve got a few contacts that might be able to give us a lead. Let’s stay in touch.”  
  
“Hold on, who said this was a joint operation?”  
  
“I did. Just now.” Maggie smiled and raised an eyebrow challengingly. “Unless you have a problem with that?”  
  
“N—no,” quickly replied Alex, hoping that her face wasn’t as red as it felt. She never realized just how heart-stopping dimples could be until a certain detective appeared in her life.  
  
“See you around, Danvers!” Alex watched the detective leave and let out a pent up breath she didn’t know she was holding.  
  
This silly school girl crush was going to be the death of her. “Friends,” muttered Alex, running a hand through her hair. “Just friends.”

* * *

 

Alex pried herself away from her microscope at the chime of her phone. A message from Maggie. Her heartbeat unwillingly sped up, but she did her best to qualm the racing.  
  
_Found lead. Meet at the bar to discuss? Drinks on me._  
  
The agent chewed the inside of her lip. A casual setting with someone she still needs to get over her unreciprocated feelings for. Add alcohol. This was a bad idea.  
  
_Still haven’t determined the goal of the cocktail of chemicals. Wouldn’t have much information to give you in return,_ tapped out Alex in reply.  
  
_You need a break, anyways. We don’t have to talk about work._  
  
Alex exhaled, pinching the bridge of her nose. Maybe more exposure to the detective is what she needed. Perhaps she could become desensitized to Maggie’s brilliant smile, or sharp wit, or… “Get a hold of yourself, Danvers,” she reprimands under her breath.  
  
_I wouldn’t be a good friend if I let you slave over your science stuff while I enjoy a beer,_ came a second text during Alex’s small indecisive period.  
  
She could do this. They were friends, after all. Just friends. Alex had stared down the barrel of a gun, she could have a few drinks with a friend. A friend she was indubitably attracted to, but just a friend none the less.  
  
_Two hours._ Alex swallowed hard after sending the text.  
  
Maggie texted back almost immediately. _Don’t be late!_

* * *

 

“So what have you got?” asked Alex, sliding into the seat next to Maggie.  
  
“Hey, Danvers. I’m doing well, thank you for asking. I’m glad to see you too. Great weather we’re having.”  
  
Alex dipped her head in embarrassment. “Sorry. I just…” _can’t think straight around you_ “…I can get wrapped up in a case.”  
  
Maggie smiled. “Hey, happens to the best of us.” She tilted her glass in salute, before taking a sip. “First things first, though. Beer?”  
  
“Yes, please.” Maggie signaled M’gann and turned to face Alex.  
  
“Thought we were going to take a work break.”  
  
“You can’t just say you have a lead and not tell me. That’s certified torture,” joked Alex. She stopped having to concentrate on breathing properly around the detective. _This may actually work out well._  
  
Maggie smirked and brushed her hair behind one ear. “What are you going to do about it? Arrest me?” Alex’s mouth went dry, and she almost choked on the beer she was just brought. _Nope, this was a terrible, terrible idea._  
  
“N—no, you can’t actually—there’s no grounds to—”  
  
Maggie rolled her eyes, full of mirth. “Relax, Danvers. For a secret agent, you’re much too easy to tease sometimes.”  
  
Alex took a hasty sip of beer. _This was going to be a long night_. “So…” she cleared her throat. _Focus._ “There were over twenty different substances in the alien’s system. A few I believe we’re for sedation and compliance, Rohypnol and the like, then there was trace amounts of human-susceptible poisons like cyanide and arsenic, but not in lethal doses. I even found traces of methamphetamines, though what effect that would have on Circadian physiology, I’m don’t know exactly. His system was flooded with Epinephrine, which I believe was the main cause of death. That, paired with the cocktail of drugs and other chemicals caused organ failure and ultimately cardiac arrest.”  
  
Maggie shook her herself. It was captivating watching Alex light up as she talked science. The detective blinked slowly, taking in the stream of information. “So does our perp have a strong medical background or is just a psycho who wanted to see what an alien would do hopped up on meth and poison?”  
  
“Medical. And is quite good at it. There were some manufactured substances that were specifically engineered to work with that alien’s specific biology. It was quite ingenious,” marveled Alex. “Too bad he or she doesn’t work for the DEO. We could really use their talent.”  
  
“I’m sure you have more than enough talent to outsmart this creep,” reassured Maggie. Alex fought off another blush. “Anyways, I talked to some contacts, and one name keep cropping up. Does Cadmus ring any bells?”  
  
“I’m assuming you’re not referring to the first King of Thebes?”  
  
“No, you little nerd,” smirked Maggie.  
  
“I’ll have you know I’m the reigning Trivial Pursuit champion of game night,” retorted Alex.  
  
“Ah, well I’ll be sure to bring you along if the fate of the world hangs on a Jeopardy game.” Maggie finished her drink and ordered another. “Anyways, the rumor is that this Cadmus organization is trying to recruit aliens in clinical testing, offering large sums of money to join their program.”  
  
“Let me guess, no one sees them once they sign up?” The detective shook her head. “Great, a dubious medical clinic developing what can only be assumed to be a harmful substance to use against aliens. Just what National City needs,” sighed Alex.  
  
“Hey, we’ve got the best of the NCPD and the DEO working on it. We’ll put an end to these Cadmus bastards in no time. But in the mean time, I haven’t seen you in a while, how are you doing?”

* * *

 

Alex didn’t mean to stay this late, but talking to Maggie was just so easy and _nice_. “So, I told Kara and my mom that I’m… you know,” Alex’s hands started to get animated when she was nervous. She really shouldn’t be talking about this. The kiss with Maggie was still burned in the forefront of her mind, along with the rejection. But she was three beers in and the words were following more easily.  
  
“That’s great!” Maggie sounded genuinely happy for her. “Did they take it well?”  
  
“Yeah,” Alex laughed nervously and ran a hand through her hair. “Kara… was so _sweet_ and… and mom was… well, I think she was more accepting of the fact that I’m… She was more accepting of it than I was.”  
  
“This is such a big step. I’m proud of you,” beamed Maggie. “You know I’ll always be here to help you, right?”  
  
Alex nodded, afraid to speak. Fearing that she’d say something that would lead to another rejection.  
  
“I mean it. It’s what good friends do.”  
  
“Yeah, friends,” mumbled Alex, just loud enough for Maggie to catch. The detective frowned, the noticeable fall in Alex’s face caused Maggie’s heart to break. Alex deserved all the happiness in the world. A relationship with her though? She was the last thing Alex needed. When it comes to relationships, Maggie always seems to screw it up somehow. And Maggie did not want to screw up and have Alex leave her life.  
  
“Well, it’s getting late. I should go. Work and all tomorrow. Have to hang with my _amigos_ , the acids,” grinned Alex, starting to leave.  
  
“Did you just… pun?”  
  
Alex blushed bright red. _Way to be the epitome of cool. Weird science puns? That’s like falling on your ass on your way to get your diploma._ She laughed nervously. “Uh, yeah. Because I’m in the lab so much they’re my friends, the amino acids. You know, the important organic compounds that contain carboxyl—”  
  
“No, no. I got it,” said Maggie through stifled laughter. “I just didn’t expect it. Not in a bad way, it’s…” _fucking adorable_ “…it’s refreshing.”  
  
Alex fumbles putting on her coat at least twice before her arm is successfully through the sleeve. She’s still blushing; her whole face is hot. Because it’s the ear-to-ear smile lighting up Maggie’s face that she so rarely sees. And it’s the singular thought that: _I put that smile there_. And it’s that all-consuming desire to want to make Maggie this happy all of the time.  
  
Alex clears her throat, once. Twice. She doesn’t trust her voice to even make a sound. “Call me if you find anything new, Sawyer,” manages Alex, trying to play it cool.  
  
“Sure thing. Night, Danvers. Get home safe.” The detective sighed as she watched Alex go. _Friends. It was better this way_ , she repeated.

* * *

 

Maggie knew she was gay ever since she could remember. Looking back, it was in first grade when her mom started explaining that there would be a special boy that she’d want to spend her life with and build a family just like theirs with. That he’d be someone that made her very, very happy. She remembers as Little Maggie Sawyer turns to her mom and says, “Like how I feel when Ellie Harper smiles at me?”  
  
Her mother fumbles. “Yes, dear, but it will be even stronger than friendship.”  
  
Little Maggie just shakes her head. She knows what she feels. It’s the same thing as what Mom feels for Dad, but she just smiles and says, “Just like the feeling of pizza night?” Her mother laughs and pats Little Maggie’s head. She’s too young to know.  
  
It’s in Middle School when her mother becomes nervous. Because Little Maggie Sawyer is now Preteen, Rebellious, Maggie Sawyer. She gets into fights and ends up punching Derek Phillips in the nose when he pulls Anna Baxter’s hair and pushes the books out of Anna’s hands. Maggie’s mother sits Maggie down and firmly tells her, “Violence is not the answer.”  
  
But Growing Maggie relents that, “Derek is a jerk. Anna is too sweet and pretty to get picked on by a nasty boy.”  
  
Her mother sighs and squeezes her daughters arm. “It’s nice that you stick up for your friends, honey. But you can’t punch people.”  
  
“Even mean, stupid boys like Derek?”  
  
“Yes, darling.”  
  
Her mother makes excuses, saying that all boys are silly at that age and that they’ll grow up into someone she could love. She just hasn’t met the right guy yet. Maggie laughs, because now she makes a living off of punching criminals.  
  
It’s in high school when Maggie knows with all her heart that this is not a phase to grow out of. That one day, she wants a family just like her mother had built, but with another girl. Because it’s Sam, never Samantha, Collins pressing her against a tree and kissing her that feels so right. Maggie is happy and can’t help but mention Sam. Her mother is happy too, glad her daughter is normal and dating a boy. One day, Teenager Maggie, so careful with pronouns, lets slip that Sam is a she, not a he. Her mother is quiet for days. They don’t speak about boys (or girls) for a very long time. Sam, never Samantha, Collins breaks it off sometime later and High School Maggie Sawyer is devastated. Her mother stays silent, wondering if Samantha was just an experiment.  
  
Her senior year of high school Maggie tries to date a boy, Reese Turner, to get her mother to talk to her again like they used to. To feel loved again. Her mother is hopeful. Maggie can’t get past holding his hand. It ends quickly.  
  
Maggie graduates high school, moves out, and joins the Police Academy. She officially says the words, “Mom, I’m gay.” Her mother just nods, like it’s a bitter truth.  
  
Rookie Maggie Sawyer dates around, meets many different and remarkable women. She doesn’t mention any of them over the Christmas Turkey with her family.  
  
It’s on June 26th that Detective Maggie Sawyer cries. She rarely ever cries. She’s built walls and lockboxes for her emotions, but the Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriages comes through and she allows herself to not just to cry, but to sob. She’s overjoyed to be able to have a legal family, that she’s one giant step closer to feeling okay being herself, and devastated because her mother will not attend her future wedding.  
  
One hour and one pint of ice cream later, she gets a call from her mother. Maggie answers on the final ring. There’s stretching silence, and she’s tempted to hang up, but her mother’s voice rings through, tight with tears. “I love you, Maggie. I love you so much.” And Little Maggie Sawyer cries harder than she ever has in her life. Because after years of silence and skirting around the issue, of never feeling _normal_ , she gains validation from the one person she’d been seeking it from for her entire life. “Congratulations, darling.”  
  
So when it was Alex Danvers, beautiful, sexy, smart, kick-ass Alex Danvers that was in front of Maggie, pouring her heart out, trying to make sense of herself, just like she had to years ago, it’s as if all those years and memories came rushing at Maggie at once, the raw emotion of Alex’s voice acting as a catalyst. And all Maggie could think of is: don’t be your mother. So she hugged Alex tight, just as she wished someone had all those years ago when she was figuring it out. She held Alex and told her that her feelings matter, that she is wonderful and important.  
  
The last thing Maggie wanted was to burden Alex with her troubles, to add Alex’s name to a list of ugly breakups and amazing people she could never enjoy the company of. So she named themselves friends, and let Alex go. _It’s for the better this way_ , is the mantra that plays in Maggie’s head. It’s for the better.  
  
…  
  
Right?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, observe the smitten baby gay in her natural habitat. Incredibly intriguing. Watch as she forgets simple words and fumbles with trivial tasks. Nature is truly fascinating.
> 
> As always, kudos, feedback, etc. are greatly appreciated!


	3. And Let Slip the Dogs of War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aka Yer a Werewolf, Maggie

The search for Cadmus monopolized Alex’s time, and as another week passed, she could only hope that any destruction the new werewolf could cause would be far less than what Cadmus was planning. The new moon was nearing, so Alex was sure that this other wolf wouldn’t have the energy to shift even if they wanted to at the moment, and places the thought at the back of her mind.  
  
“Every time we get close, it’s like Cadmus disappears. This has to be the third empty building we’ve raided!” Supergirl shouts, frustrated. “How many lead-lined basement bunkers can these people set up?”  
  
“Quite a few, actually,” pipes in Winn, his feet are propped up on the table and he’s tapping on his tablet. “My calculations show that it’s not hard to hide—” Alex and Kara both shoot him a dirty glance and he immediately goes silent.  
  
“There must be some other way we can surprise them,” pondered J’onn. “I just don’t understand where they are getting their information. There has to be a leak in one of our departments.”  
  
“Then we form a skeleton team of trusted agents and don’t assemble the necessary force until minutes before executing the raid,” suggests Alex.  
  
Supergirl sighs. “It already takes us too long to gather information with a full team of agents and NCPD detectives.”  
  
“Perhaps we can draw them out then?”  
  
An alarm rips through the building, halting the group’s meeting. The monitors flash. _Alien rampage: Main Street._ The group all silently glance at each other before mobilizing.

* * *

 

Alex jumps out of the car in haste, pointing her weapon at the alien and pulling the trigger. The bullets do little to effect the large beast, simply plinking off its spine-covered grey skin. The agent growls in annoyance, wishing they were better equipped to handle this alien on a rampage. She watches as Supergirl, who arrived minutes before the squad of DEO cars, flies back in for to try and land a handful of punches. Alex chews the inside of her lip in thought. _How would they contain this alien without sufficient firepower?_ Supergirl’s heat vision causes the alien to at least screech and focus on the Kyptonian, rather than continue its rampage down Main Street.  
  
The agent runs around to the back of the car and flings open the trunk. She deftly unclips a case and hostlers a large laser gun, tossing aside the useless semi automatic rifle. Alex braces herself, aims, and shoots, absorbing the large recoil of the weapon. It hits the alien on its head, causing it to emit another high frequency shriek and turn towards her direction.  
  
_Come on_ , she urges the lizard-like creature. It rears up, exposing it’s soft, spine-free underbelly. Supergirl takes the opening and lands a few hits. Alex adds charged shots of lasers to the mix. The agents around her continued to fire rounds at the creature, this time much more effective. They just needed to occupy the alien long enough for Bravo Team to set up a containment field, since stun grenades did nothing to slow the creatures rampage.  
  
The alien lands on all fours, an ear splitting scream halting everyone’s fire as they reach up to cover their ears.  
  
Supergirl recovers first and continues her onslaught to subdue the creature, but the alien has learned and bats her aside with its tail. Alex’s heart is in her mouth as she watches her sister get tossed to the other end of the street. She holds her breath, muscles already coiled to run over, but a few heartbeats later, Kara jumps out of the Supergirl-sized hole in the pavement and Alex lets out a pent up breath.  
  
But then there’s the sound of sirens and blue and red lights fill the night sky, and Alex worries all over again. The police aren’t any more prepared to deal with this alien than the DEO are. At least their agents had switched to mainly laser-powered weapons and were leaving noticeable burn marks on the alien’s hide. Alex reaches for the radio at her chest to tell her agents to clear out the police, but then she notices a figure step out of a squad car, illuminated by one of the few still standing street lights, and Alex’s throat goes dry. _What the hell was_ she _doing here?_ Agent Danvers stamps down on the tidal wave of fear, just like she’s trained herself to do in these situations, but there’s still a tightness in her voice to fight against as she yells into the radio, “Get Sawyer and her crew out of here.”  
  
“That’s a negative. This is our city too,” comes Detective Sawyers voice over the radio, strong and stern. “Tell us where we’re needed most.”  
  
Alex clutches the walkie until her knuckles turn white. From anger? Fear? She wasn’t sure. “You can turn around and--” Danvers doesn’t finish her sentence because the alien manages to bat Kara away again, and is fixating on the new arrival of NCPD cars. The creature sprints towards the pool of squad cars and Alex isn’t exactly sure what happens next.  
  
The agent drops her radio and it crashes to the ground, a small addition of noise to the cacophony of bullets and lasers. All she’s aware of is that this alien has hurt her sister, is set on destroying National City, and is headed straight for Maggie. Instinct and a fierce, feral desire to protect washes through her. Her wolf was mostly dormant, being close to a new moon, but it was Kara and her city and Maggie... Alex is sprinting straight towards the alien on two feet, because she has to do something to help Kara and Maggie... then Alex is running faster on all four paws a heartbeat later. She doesn’t even wince at the elevated pain from shifting without the moon’s aid, because Maggie’s name is running through her head.  
  
Alex doesn’t fully realize she’s transformed into a wolf until her claws are sinking into the alien’s back neck. A fleeting thought of, _Bullets bounce off but werewolf claws hit home, go figure,_ runs through her mind before she’s consumed by unchecked wolf rage.  
  
The wolf snarls and sinks her teeth in, kicking out with her hind legs, leaving a series of deep scratches. She ignores the sting of the creatures thin, short, needle-covered hide as it scraps her belly and paws. The alien rears up, and throws it’s head forward violently. No matter how hard Alex tries to hang on, she’s thrown forward. The agent is hurled against a building and she can hear a yip of pain escape her muzzle. She tastes blood, metallic and thick on her tongue.  
  
Alex scrabbled to her feet, her rational brain assessed there was at least one broken bone, but the adrenaline coursing through her body washed all of the pain away. Her sharp eyes flicked over the scene, easily picking out shapes even in the spottily light. The agent sees that the police officers have now dispersed within the DEO agents and we’re out of immediate harm. She could see Bravo Team only moments away from completing a containment field and that Supergirl was still up and fighting.  
  
The wolf barred her teeth, ears flat on her head, the fur standing straight up on the nape of her neck. Alex sprinted and lunged back onto the creature. This wasn’t over until this alien was secured in a cage. The wolf caught the alien on its shoulder as it prepared to swing at Supergirl again. She managed to leave two, trailing claw marks before landing on the ground. Alex’s tail swished as she turned directions and bounded onto the creature's leg, then onto its head. The alien screeched and Alex’s sensitive ears rang with pain, but she managed to hang on tight. It shook its broad head back and forth in an attempt to shake the wolf, but Alex dug in with her claws with all her might, batting out her hind legs.  
  
Through the chaos of car alarms, gunfire, and the ringing in her ears that wouldn’t stop, a bullhorn rang out. “Clear! Repeat, clear!”  
  
Alex released her hold on the alien and sprinted towards one line of DEO cars. A crackle of energy reverberated throughout the city a moment later, signaling the activation of the containment field. Alex looked up, and saw Kara hovering well above the scene, looking only slightly worse for wear. Danvers swung her, now clumsy feeling wolf head, around scanning the area for Maggie. _Where... where... there!_ Alex sighed in relief and raised a paw to start to go towards her when she stopped. She was still in wolf form, and if she changed back now she could risk furthering her injuries.  
  
A hand rested on Alex’s back and she jumped. Supergirl had landed next to her and a ring of agents started to gather, some warily pointing weapons at her. Alex prepared to pounce, the wolf in her reacting to a danger. Her ears flattened dangerously and her mouth was drawn back in a snarl.  
  
Kara kneeled down and extended her hand. “Hey, it’s okay,” she murmured. Alex checked herself, her human mind forcing control. The agent stepped forward, and snuffled into Supergirl’s hand, trying to seem as friendly as a torn and bleeding giant wolf could.  
  
The next hours passed in a blur. She was sure Kara was saying something to the agents about being on their side, because she hears a medic talk about GSW’s, multiple lacerations, and two broken ribs. Alex retreats into her mind as the pain makes itself known in pulses that seem to penetrate deeper as the adrenaline ebbs away. She always heals faster in wolf form, and only hopes that its enough.  
  
Alex’s body strains to change back to human, exhausted by the battle paired with forced transformation, but she fights against the desire. The wolf’s head rests in Kara’s lap the whole ride to the DEO. Alex can sense the worry rolling off of her sister in waves as Kara strokes the fur behind her ears. The agent feels guilty. She was reckless and threw herself in direct danger. But there were innocent people in danger. People she _cared_ about were in danger.  
  
Kara leans down and places a light kiss on her big sister’s snout. “Why, Alex? Why?” She whispers. Alex’s guilt intensifies. But she had to do something. She had to. Alex tried to convey this with a whine and a flick of her tail. Kara sighs and returns to stroking Alex’s head. “I know, I know,” she murmurs. “I hate it, but I know.”  
  
The injection of sedatives must work for werewolves too because Alex’s body grows heavy and she slips into oblivion. She doesn’t fight the feeling because Kara is safe, National City is safe, and Sawyer, because _Maggie_ is safe.

* * *

 

Alex blinks awake on a bed back at the DEO. She lifts her head and notices the stiffness in her muscles. Her chest felt tight, and she shifted her position, untucking her front paws from underneath her, not sure if she should be happy about remaining in wolf form.  
  
“Oh thank Rao you’re awake!” Kara’s scent is all around her as she envelopes Alex in a hug. The wolf yips, as a jolt of pain rips through her ribs. “Sorry, sorry!”  
  
Alex blinks up at her sister, still in Supergirl regalia, and attempts to ask her everything Human Alex Danvers would. Kara luckily caught on.  
  
“You’ve been unconscious a full 24 hours. J’onn pulled some strings and explained away your arrival, I’m supposedly introducing you to Earth life and setting you free once you’re healed. The alien we captured actually has a humanoid form, so J’onn will probably want your help interrogating it once you’re back,” reported Kara.  
  
Alex rose to all fours on the bed, growling as everything either stung, ached, burned, or a combination of all three. Kara stopped her laundry list of happenings to shoot her sister a glare. “The doctor said to take it easy. At the rate of healing you should be fine by the end of today.”  
  
Alex’s tongue lolled out as if to say, ‘I can’t wait that long.’  
  
Kara rolled her eyes. “If you’re not a jerk and don’t try to run head on into danger again, I might be nice enough to take you home.”  
  
Alex barked playfully, and sat on her haunches, agreeing with the sentiment.  
  
“But really,” sighs Kara, “What were you thinking? _You’re_ always the one telling me to think before leaping into danger. I… it was so stupid! I could’ve lost you, and then… and then I don’t know _what_ would happen. I can’t even imagine.”  
  
Alex hangs her head and beats her tail dolefully on the bed.  
  
“Don’t think just because you can’t talk right now, doesn’t mean you get out of having this conversation later.” Kara pats Alex’s head fondly. Alex nuzzled her head into her sister’s hand in an attempt to comfort her. “Come on, lets get you out of here.”

* * *

 

Kara somehow manages to spirit Alex out of the DEO without being seen (a security flaw that Alex most definitely would have to address later) and into one of the agency’s vans, where another agent waits, probably falsely briefed, to take them close to Alex’s apartment. A short ride later, and Alex is sprawled out on her couch (silently hoping her vacuum will get _werewolf_ fur off of fabric) while Kara bemoans the lack of any good food in the flat.  
  
It’s between deciding to watch _Frozen_ or _Meet the Robinsons_ and probably the twentieth “Move over, yah big doofus, you’re hogging all the good couch space,” when there’s a knock on Alex’s door.  
  
Alex’s ears prick up at the sound, and Kara tilts her glasses down to see who it is, she crinkles her nose up in confusion before stating, “Maggie.”  
  
Another knock sounds and Alex uses her muzzle to nudge Kara towards the door before dashing off to her bedroom to hide.  
  
“Danvers, I’ve been calling your phone and you—Oh, Kara, sorry. I was looking for Ale—Agent Danvers.”  
  
“Oh, she’s out,” tittered Kara.  
  
“Is her phone dead or something? There was this... work situation a few days ago, and I know she was there, and I...”  
  
“Oh, yeah. She, uh, said something about that. Alex is probably busy with that. You know how it goes.” Kara forced a laugh.  
  
Detective Sawyer frowned, unconvinced. “Then what are you doing at her place if she’s not around?”  
  
“Oh, um, house sitting?” Kara replied, unsure of her own answer.  
  
“Right, sure,” said Maggie, unconvinced. “Well if you see her, tell her to text me.”  
  
“Yup, of course. Will do. On it. Defin—” there was at crash emanating from the bedroom.  
  
“What was that?”  
  
Kara laughed nervously. “Oh, probably the wind. Left a window open, it was stuffy. I’ll just.... I’ll just... gottago!” The younger Danvers sister slammed the door in the detective’s face and rushed off to the bedroom.  
  
Alex stared at the remains of a broken glass through hazy eyes. A pain had started within, causing her to bump into the nightstand and send a water glass to the floor. Her body was forcing a transformation, but the process was far too drawn out. Alex had been in wolf form for much too long, and near a new moon. It was a dangerous combination. She tried to muffle a sound of pain, but her wolf let loose a low, keening whine as her not fully mended ribs shifted, broke, and reformed to accommodate her human form. “Alex!” shouted Kara as she skidded to her knees next to her sister. The wolf whimpered again. Alex was panicking. She’d never had this little control over her transformations since her first year. And it _hurt._  
  
“Kara?” Called Maggie from the other side, hearing the muffled commotion. “Danvers? Kara!”  
  
“Chicken nuggets,” cursed Kara under her breath as she heard the detective open the front door she left unlocked in her haste and draw her gun. “It’s okay! Just cleaning up a but of spilled milk! I—I’ll be right out!” she called, hoping that Maggie wouldn’t open the bedroom door.  
  
Alex locked her frightened eyes with Kara, jaw opening and closing in a silent scream of pain. Her teeth started to shrink, tail disappearing. “Hey, hey,” coaxed Kara. “It’s okay, just let it happen. Don’t fight it.” Alex squeezed her eyes shut and willed her body to try and relax despite the all consuming pain.  
  
Kara continued to whisper reassurances, bringing Alex back to the days when they were first trying to test the parameters of this odd condition together. Back when she’d get stuck as a wolf, or struggled to transform into one. Alex felt herself embrace her humanity, still slower than usual, but much faster than before.  
  
Maggie’s cautious footsteps grew closer. Kara grabbed a blanket and tossed it over Alex, now in the last stages of becoming human. “I’m sorry, I have to deal with this,” whispered Kara. “I’ll be back soon.”  
  
Kara yanked the bedroom door open just as Maggie reached for the handle, darting out and slamming it shut. “Whoa there, detective,” said Kara holding her hands up in mock surrender. “You can put that away, now. It was just a glass that broke. I must’ve left it too close to the edge.”  
  
“Oh, did the dog knock it over?” Asked Maggie, gesturing to the bowl of water and (previously eaten) plate of food with her gun before holstering in it.  
  
“Dog? Pff, Alex doesn’t have a dog. What dog?” Laughed Kara, spinning a length of her hair in her fingers.  
  
Maggie raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Okay the truth is, Alex just got a dog and I’m looking after it while she works overtime.”  
  
“So what’s it’s name?”  
  
“Name?” Kara looked around the room, trying to cobble together a name. “Eh, uh...” she stuttered unable to think up anything. “Alex...ander. Yeah, Alexander!”  
  
Maggie was silent for a moment, then crossed her arms. “Alex has a dog... named Alex.”  
  
“Yeah, she’s got a strange sense of humor,” tittered Kara.  
  
“What are you trying to hide, Little Danvers?” pressed Maggie.  
  
It was that moment that Alex, now fully human, opened the bedroom door and padded out, dressed in a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and her “I wear this shirt periodically” t-shirt with the table of elements printed on the front that Kara got her a few years back. Alex yawned and ran a hand though her hair, she would’ve gone for a stretch for added effect, but her ribs hurt far too much. “Kara, keep it down,” whined Alex in her best ‘just woke up’ voice. “Oh, Sawyer,” continued Alex, pretending just to notice. “When’d you get here?” She blinked a few times “Sorry for the mess... and my appearance... I was just sleeping off a late night.” A blush appearing on her cheeks, not accredited to any acting skill. “I wasn’t expecting company.”  
  
“I just...” Maggie started, taken aback by Alex’s sudden appearance. She glanced over Alex once before reforming her lost thought. “I just wanted to see if you were okay. You weren’t answering my texts or calls. I heard your radio cut out that day, and well....” Maggie looked down at her feet. “But now I see you’re fine. So you know, just send an emoji or something my way next time so I know my only connection to the juicy alien cases at the DEO is still alive.” Maggie flashed an uncertain smile.  
  
“I don’t do emojis,” deadpanned Alex. She crossed her arms. “And I thought I had at least reached friend status, or did I get demoted to connection now?”  
  
“Jeeze, Danvers, take a joke. I—”  
  
“Look, Maggie, I’ve had a very hard couple of days and I just want to—” Alex breathed in deeply, her wolf senses still prevailing over human ones due to the poor transformation, and something finally clicked in her brain. She’d smelled this scent before, covered in wolf, but it was there. _How could she not have recognized it before?_ All of those late nights with Maggie pouring over case files, chasing leads. There was Maggie in the mornings, smile on her face when they’d meet up to work, Alex with two coffees in hand. Maggie was there, with cartons of Chinese food scattered around the office as yet another important page got pinned to the board. They’d bumped elbows and accidentally brushed hands, but it wasn’t until now that…  
  
It hit her full force.  
  
It was Maggie that night in the woods. It was Maggie who was the new werewolf she’d been trying to locate. It was Maggie this entire time. _How could she not have noticed?_ There she was all wrapped up in the Cadmus case, stuck human form, and her mystery werewolf was the one by her side for most of it all.  
  
“Danvers, I... Alex, I’m sor—”  
  
“You’re a werewolf!” Blurted out Alex, her usual control out the window at this revelation.  
  
“Pardon?”  
  
“You’re a werewolf,” repeated Alex, as if that cleared everything up. “I’ve never linked your scent with the wolf that ran into me last full moon, but it was you.”  
  
“Excuse me, but my scent? Werewolf?”  
  
Kara bounced up and down with a squee of joy. “You’re a werewolf too! Oh, I’m so happy! Alex has a pack! Do you like scratches behind the ear, 'cause Alex can’t get enough and don’t get me started on squirrels—”  
  
“Kara!” scolded Alex. “That’s enough.”  
  
Maggie stood stock still for a moment before turning around. “I gotta go, Danvers.”  
  
“No, wait, Maggie!” pleaded Alex. “I know this is a lot. It was hard for me to accept it and even harder for me to learn how to control it, but I’m willing to help. It doesn’t have to be as bad for you.”  
  
“Look, Alex, it’s sweet you want to help me with... whatever you think I have, but I have to go. I’ll call you if there’s a case we need help on.”  
  
Alex grabbed Maggie’s hand. “Waking up in the forest after the night of a full moon? Starving? No recollection of the night before? Increased sense of hearing and smell? I’ve been there before too. I know it was you. Please just give me a chance to explain. Give it time to sink in. I’ll still be here.”  
  
Maggie tore herself silently from Alex’s loose grip and fled out the door.  
  
Kara turned to her sister. “You really think Maggie is the other werewolf?”  
  
Alex nodded. “The bigger question is which werewolf turned her, and where are they now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens... Predictions? Comments? Constructive criticism? Write it below! Unlike Alex, I don't bite.


	4. Shifting Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aka I need more Alex in a lab coat and Kara obsessing with Snapchat. Also, lets acknowledge that Maggie most definitely has memorized Alex’s coffee order.

Alex Danvers stared intently down at her phone, waiting for it to do _something._ She’s just come out of a one-hour interrogation with nothing constructive to show for it. She was responsible for interrogating the alien who caused mayhem and destruction in National City days before and who was responsible for the pervasive ache in Alex’s ribs as her slowed human systems repaired the bone fractures she suffered.  
  
That particular alien had shifted and shrunk from its massive lizard form, hours after its containment, to a more humanoid one, although still grey and spike-adorned. Whatever new cocktail of drugs Cadmus had given it caused only brief periods of lucid thought, and even then half of what the alien offered was nonsense. There was nothing in the alien’s rantings that would even hint to Cadmus’ location or true motive.  
  
Alex sighed and tapped the space bar uselessly, willing her computer simulation to compile quicker and desperately hoping she didn’t miss a semicolon in her code again. The agent glanced at the monitor one over, displaying a feed of the now-sleeping alien and its vitals. A timer ticked down in the corner, counting the seconds until she’d wake the alien up and settle down for another hour of seemingly useless interrogation.  
  
Then Alex was staring at her inert phone again. She hadn’t heard or seen Maggie at all since she found out the detective was a newly minted werewolf. It was all she could do not to think about it. The agent had a Cadmus test subject sitting in a cell, their best lead into infiltrating the illusive organization, and yet all she could worry about was if she completely messed things up with Maggie. _Would Alex ever see her again? Or would the detective change her identity and take up residence high in the Himalayas never to be heard from? Maybe she’d go rogue wolf and never turn human again. Was that even possible?_  
  
Alex’s phone lit up with a ding, and her heart leapt into her throat.  
  
Smol Sis: _U ok?_  
  
The DEO agent sighed. It was only Kara. Of course. _Why would Maggie want to speak to her again?_ Maybe it was pointless to hope to see her.  
  
Smol Sis: _Can bring food and my company._  
  
Alex’s lips quirked up in a small smile. Her sister’s indomitable spirit of happiness in spite of everything never ceased to amaze Alex.  
  
_You just want an excuse to buy more food,_ types out Alex.  
  
_Maaaybe…_  
  
Fine, concedes the agent. She needed someone to pull her out of her own head anyways.  
  
A second later Alex’s phone chimes again. It’s a Snapchat of Kara smiling and holding three clamshell take out boxes full of pasta. Kara has drawn on a mustache to her face. The caption reads: “Don’t be upsetti, have some spaghetti!” Alex can’t help but smile.

* * *

 

“She’s not going to move to _Antarctica,_ ” said Kara, happily munching away at a breadstick.  
  
“How do you know? I read that it was named the world’s first LGBT-friendly continent,” sighed Alex into her chicken alfredo.  
  
“Maggie is not going to move to a barren, frozen tundra just because she learned she was a werewolf. It took you months before you even started accepting your wolf. She needs time before deciding to go live with the polar bears—”  
  
“That’s the arctic.”  
  
“Fine. Live with _penguins_.”  
  
Alex opened her mouth to retort when her computer chirped out a familiar synth tone. She set her pasta aside and frowned at the results of her simulation. The agent scrolled through the 3D space of rendered chemical bonds, or what Kara calls “hexagon soup,” and hums thoughtfully.  
  
“Hey, that tadpole head looks like it fits right into that octopus,” remarked Kara, sneaking a bite of Alex’s pasta.  
  
“You do know you bought that food for me, right?”  
  
“Hey, you’re helping feed National City’s hero. It’s for a good cause.”  
  
Alex rolls her eyes. “Besides, that _tadpole head_ is actually a ring of carbon atoms bonded together to create a carbocycle which…” the agent trailed off, her mind slowly clicking together the puzzle pieces. “That’s it! I’ve got it!”  
  
“Yes! Exactly the breakthrough we need!”  
  
“You don’t even know what I found, Kara.”  
  
“But it’s good, right?”  
  
Alex just rolled her eyes and smiled. She swiftly rose from her chair and grabbed a lab coat off of a hook. “I’m headed to the lab.”  
  
“Me too!”  
  
Alex nods and turns around, back facing her sister to leave the room. Kara grabs a few breadsticks and moves to stuff them in her pocket. “No food in the lab,” scolds Alex without even glancing behind her. Kara whines, but leaves the breadsticks on the table.

* * *

 

Kara Snaps a video of Alex donning her lab coat and goggles and captions it “Super Science Mode activated.”  
  
Alex hums a tune as she weighs out some KHP, and doesn’t realize she’s singing until she can’t get one line of lyrics from looping in her head.  
  
Kara Snaps a pic as Alex pours in sodium hydroxide to neutralize her hydrochloric acid waste and captions it: “Expected boom. Disappointed.” Alex rolls her eyes. “You know an explosion is the exact opposite of what that’s supposed to do.”  
  
Alex sets a flask into cool water, and participates in one of Kara’s Snapchat videos as she waits for her solution to recrystallize. The agent quickly prepares an iodine clock and the two sync the color change to the bass drop of a song, ending the video with a fist bump and “Yeah! Science, bitch!” Kara not only posts it to her story, but also saves it.

* * *

 

Alex gently flicked the syringe in her grip before injecting the still-sleeping alien. The DEO agent had formulated a promising antitoxin to counteract Cadmus’ chemical hold over the grey alien’s mind. She just hoped it worked.  
  
Immediately after injecting the alien, Alex exited the cell. She placed her hand on the nearby panel, locking the cell and flooding it with momentarily with a specialized gas.  
  
The agent situates herself on a chair just outside the see-through cell walls and waits with baited breath. The alien stirs, and Alex crosses her fingers that her engineered serum at least alleviated the alien’s condition.

* * *

 

“Cold… cold… grey.”  
  
“Focus. Is there anything else that you can tell me about Cadmus?”  
  
“Cadmus… caddy… camp. Calcium?”  
  
Alex sighed and leaned back in her chair. This was going nowhere yet again. The lucid periods were longer, but still filled with nonsense. “You transformed and I’m assuming that was all because of something Cadmus gave you. What do they want? What did they say?”  
  
“Say? Say… no, charmed. Like snakes. Like golden waves. Like sugar and poison… Tie me up and wave fortune out of my grasp… So clever. So many words… Worms, wars… Words, words. She said words. She didn’t mean words.”  
  
Alex sat a bit straighter. “She? Who was she?”  
  
“Steel and fire and…” the alien seemed to shudder at a recollection, and sat down on the bench, rubbing its arm incessantly. “She demanded change. Change, challenge, channels. We were just pennies.”  
  
Alex leaned forward, intently listening. This was the most sense the alien had displayed since its arrival at the DEO.  
  
“To change the world. To change the people. Just to change…” The alien was silent for a long period of time, eyes fixed on a point on the ceiling. It was an event Alex had seen before throughout her interrogation. The complete and sudden shut down of the alien, as if it was frozen in time. The agent sighed. Perhaps that was all the information she would get. It would be back to the lab to try and reformulate a more effective serum.  
  
“She was obsessed with change,” started the alien. The clarity of its voice struck Alex. Never had the alien been so coherent. “Obsessed with a human that changed. Focused on him. Poked, prodded… Leached blood in waterfalls. Their tool… toon… moon. Always about the moon. He howled on about the moon.”  
  
A sinking feeling blossomed in Alex’s gut. _These rantings of a clearly ill alien couldn’t mean..._ The agent shook her head. She had to keep her mind open for now.  
  
“Yes, he wanted the moon. But she wanted the wolf.” The alien smiled, eyes flashing with a twisted mirth.  
  
Alex’s heart jumped into her throat. It was clear Cadmus had a special interest in transformations. And now the alien in front of her all but said they detained a werewolf. “What else did she say about the wolf?” pressed Alex. She dreaded to think what Cadmus wanted with her… or Maggie.  
  
The alien simply laid down on the bench and started humming a tune.  
  
“What did Cadmus say about the wolf?” repeated Alex. The alien carried on as if nothing happened.  
  
The DEO agent cursed. She’d lost her window of lucidness for sure this time. Granted, it was the most information gained on the goals of Cadmus yet, but still not enough to help track them down. Alex stood up roughly, knocking her chair to the ground. She didn’t bother to pick it up before stalking back to the lab.  
  
It’s late—nearly 3am and Kara is fast asleep on a plush office chair. Alex doesn’t feel a bit sleepy, though. Her hands itched to do something, _anything_ to try and further their investigation into Cadmus, fueled by the knowledge that the danger now is closer to home than ever.  
  
The agent picks up an Erlenmeyer flask, not even sure what to do with it. She sets it on the scale and stares down at the useless numbers reading back at her. Alex growls in frustration, hating her mind for spinning in circles. She pulls out her phone. Her thumb hovers over Maggie’s name. Alex knows it’s late, that she needs to give the detective space. But it’s also important that Maggie knows the danger she could be in.  
  
Alex storms out of the lab and back to her computer. Maybe she could feel less useless there.  
  
The DEO agent just reaches for her mouse when Kara’s voice halts her movement. “It’s late.”  
  
Alex jumps a fraction, surprised. “I thought you were asleep.”  
  
Kara smiles softly. “My Supergirl senses were tingling. I know when someone is in trouble.”  
  
“I finally got the alien to talk some more sense. If I could just refine my serum more then perhaps—”  
  
Kara crosses her arms and tries to look as stern as possible. “Alex, the truth.”  
  
The agent stares down at her shoes for a moment. “Cadmus is holding, or held, a werewolf captive.”  
  
Kara’s eyes widen, and she uncrosses her arms. “No… that… what does that mean?”  
  
“From the bits that the alien told me, it seemed as though Cadmus was particularly interested in him or her. I don’t like the implications that raises.”  
  
“You’re a target now. Alex, this is not good. You can’t be… You need to stay at the DEO for your protection.”  
  
“I can’t just go into hiding. I have to get to the bottom of this. It’s my _job_. Aliens are in danger. People too. The whole of National City maybe in danger.”  
  
“But you’re my _sister._ You transformed in the middle of Main Street, Alex. You transformed and then fought a Cadmus test subject. They were bound to have noticed you.”  
  
“I’ve been safe until now. I can handle this. Risk is part of the job, you know that.”  
  
Kara huffed, knowing how stubborn her sister could be. “Let me take you home.”  
  
Alex narrowed her eyes, ready to shout about not needing a babysitter, but checked herself. Kara was only reacting the same way Alex herself would if the roles were reversed. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “I’m driving.”

* * *

 

Alex Danvers woke up at 7am to a knock on her door. She sighs and pulls herself out of bed, slipping on a pair of sweatpants. _It better not be her downstairs neighbor warning her about the communists again._  
  
The agent opens the door, words dying on her lips as she notices who it is. “Mag—Sawyer. What are you doing here?”  
  
Maggie smiles nervously. “I came to apologize. About running out on you.”  
  
Alex runs a hand through her hair, desperately trying to smooth out her bedhead. “Oh, no. It’s fine, really. I completely understand.”  
  
“Can I… Can I come in?” asks Maggie tentatively.  
  
Alex flies away from her leaning position on the door. “Of course!”  
  
Maggie takes a cautious few steps forward. Alex closes the door behind her. “Coffee?” The detective extends one of the two cups resting in a tray.  
  
Alex’s eyes light up. “Yes, please. It’s been a late night,” and eagerly takes a slip. She sighs with a mixture satisfaction and pleasure.  
  
“One cream and a pinch of salt, if I remember correctly.” Maggie lies. She knows she’s correct. Alex’s coffee order was filed away under the ‘important’ section of her brain the second she first heard it.  
  
Alex nods appreciatively.  
  
“I also brought donuts,” says Maggie, setting the box on the kitchen counter.  
  
“A bit typical for a cop,” prods Alex, trying to ease the tension in the room.  
  
Maggie smiles and Alex’s heart flutters. “It’s detective, thank you very much.”  
  
A silence falls between the two, and Alex is unsure how to continue. The agent reaches for a chocolate glaze doughnut and takes a bite to fill the void. “So…” tries Alex.  
  
“I think you’re right about… about me being a… um…” struggles Maggie.  
  
“A werewolf,” fills in Alex.  
  
“Yeah. I just… didn’t realize they existed. You hear about them like they’re a fairy tale. They’re so rare and keep to themselves.”  
  
Alex nods. “It took me months to accept the fact. I face off with aliens as a daily part of my job, yet _I_ was always one-hundred-percent human. Until then.”  
  
“I never thought…”  
  
“Something like that would happen to you?” supplies Alex. Maggie nods. “I was on a stakeout in the woods. It was all routine business,” starts Alex. “We’d been following this one guy who we thought would lead us to a drug bust. Thought he was working with an alien gang that pushed ‘out of this world highs.’” Alex chuckled humorlessly.  
  
“I had the misfortune of actually tracking a werewolf. And on the night of a full moon, no less,” continued the DEO agent. “I lost visuals on him, then next thing I know a large wolf has me pinned. I remember the massive _weight_ of his paws holding me down. That’s how I got these.” Alex pushes the collar of her old university shirt down to reveal more of her shoulder. A portion of three, jagged white scars came into view, only a part of a set that ran from her shoulder down her back.  
  
There’s a sharp intake of breath from the detective. Maggie glances at her forearm, adorned with a singular, wrapping scar.  
  
“Wondered how you got that,” remarked Alex.  
  
“I got a call from one of my CIs,” started Maggie. “He said that there was some strange activity down the alley off of 11 th. It sounded like just a stay cat or something, but my gut screamed alien. You learn to trust that gut feeling,” Alex nodded in agreement. “So I decided to go check it out.  
  
“It all happened too fast. One moment I had my gun raised, declaring they come out with their hands up, and the next something large knocks me over and sprints away. I never got a good look at my attacker, thought it was some alien fleeing the scene, or a big guy with a knife. Either way, I had that defensive wound stitched up and never thought anything more of the incident.”  
  
Maggie takes a half-hearted sip of her own coffee before continuing. “But then I wake up in the middle of the forest after blacking out and don’t know what to think.”  
  
Alex motions for the two to take a seat in the couch. The agent tucks her feet under her and looks Maggie directly in the eyes. “I’m not going to lie. It’s tough being a werewolf. There are moments around the full moon when I can feel my humanity slipping away and the feral wolf taking charge. It’s a constant battle to keep both sides in balance. Especially now.” Maggie looks up, intrigued. “I made a small breakthrough last night with the alien we captured. It mentioned that Cadmus has a werewolf that they were particularly interested in locked away.”  
  
“Shit,” breaths out Maggie.  
  
“You can say that again.”  
  
The detective nods and looks down at her shoes. A long silence stretches between them, but Alex doesn’t mind. She simply waits patiently for Maggie to lead the conversation.  
  
“What happened?” asked Maggie, finally breaking the silence. Alex tilted her head in question. “What happened to the other… the other werewolf that turned you?”  
  
Alex’s face fell. “He died,” came her voice in an almost whisper. She hated this story. It was one she wished never happened. “I struggled to get free and avoid his teeth at my neck… I somehow got a hold of my gun.” Alex swallowed hard, her voice becoming unstable. “And I pulled the trigger. Twice.” Alex cleared her throat and looked downwards, unable to hold Maggie’s gaze. “I must have been lucky, or not so lucky, and one of the bullets managed to hit his heart. I called J’onn in a panic and he came and sorted things out. The man I killed wasn’t _bad._ He wasn’t a criminal. He was just… _I_ was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”  
  
An aching silence spread in the room. _Please say something_ , urged Alex silently. _I’m sorry. I didn’t want to. I—_ A sudden hug enveloped Alex.  
  
“It’s okay. You’re not a bad person,” states Maggie. Alex relaxes and reciprocates the embrace. It’s a situation under normal circumstances that would probably cause a mental core meltdown and a blush redder than Supergirl’s cape, but here in this moment it’s exactly what Alex needed. It was somewhere warm and safe.  
  
Alex is the first to break the hug and Maggie respectfully pulls away. “Thank you,” says Alex. “Thank you for always knowing what to say.”

* * *

 

“… and so Kara legitimately returns from the store with a leash and collar and goes: ‘It’s fine, I’ll just take you to your work like this and say I’m a temp… with a service dog.’ So I panic even more, stuck in wolf form, because there’s no way I’m telling Kara where I work like this. Plus, there’s no way a giant wolf is going to pass as a dog. Then there was also the fact that I was supposed to brief the _president_ that day.”  
  
Maggie grins. “So what did you do?”  
  
“After destroying my apartment rampaging around as a wolf trying to change back, I flop down on the rug, and suddenly it just happens. Like magic, I’m human again.”  
  
“And the president?”  
  
Alex smiles, smug. “Made it with two minutes to spare.” The agent sighs wistfully. “Wow, I haven’t had to really think about all of the trial and error I put Kara and myself through until now.”  
  
“You make it sound terrible sometimes. This constant never knowing, always having to watch yourself.”  
  
Alex bolts upright. “No, no. I don’t want to scare you. Its hard, yes, but you won’t be alone. The problem for me was that there wasn’t a werewolf to teach me these things.” The agent fumbles, hoping she’s not being too forward. “I’ll be there for you. I want to help.” She pauses and chews her lip nervously. “If you’ll let me,” Alex finishes and smiles softly, internally fervently hoping she won’t scare the detective away.  
  
Maggie smiles. “I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished the first day of a new semester today, so hopefully I can complete this fic before the weight of my 21 credits comes barrelling into to me. I'll try my best!
> 
> And as always, love to hear any questions, comments, or criticism below!


	5. In the Belly of the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Maggie share a full moon transformation. (Too bad it’s all business.) It's a well-known fact that Alex is protective of Maggie and Maggie is protective of Alex. But conversely, it’s a well-kept secret that Alex keeps lollipops in her combat pants.

“You’re insane!” protested Maggie.  
  
“The full moon is in four days and like it or not, Sawyer, you can’t control the change,” counters Alex swiftly. “Cadmus is going to be searching for werewolves. I can act as a decoy while you shift under the safety of Supergirl and the DEO. Plus, if they do capture me, we’ll finally access their hiding spot and figure out what they want.”  
  
“How are you going to help from the confines of a cell?” challenges Supergirl, just as opposed to the idea as Maggie.  
  
“And if they find your tracker? If they drug you?” adds the detective. “If they decide that they don’t need a _live_ specimen to do whatever fucked up thing they’re doing? There’s too many unknowns.”  
  
“Detective Sawyer and Supergirl are right,” agrees J’onn.  
  
“Fine,” barks Alex, clearly annoyed at being ganged up on. “Then Supergirl comes with me. We have some backup agents hiding in wait not far behind. We draw out Cadmus, maybe capture some of their agents. They lead us to their HQ. Meanwhile, Sawyer stays at the DEO and transforms in a containment unit.”  
  
“And yet another scenario where I stay behind,” grumbles Maggie.  
  
“Well what do you want me to say?” asks Alex, exasperated.  
  
“That I’m a grown adult that can make my own decisions.”  
  
Alex rounds on the detective. “You’re a grown adult that can make her own decisions,” she grounds out.  
  
Maggie smirks and Alex almost forgets that she’s supposed to be mad. _Almost_. “Then I propose I go undercover with you. Cadmus won’t pass up _two_ werewolves. There’s better chances at survival if we go in together. We’ll keep your tracker idea and have a taskforce ready to mobilize the second we activate the beacon.”  
  
It was Alex’s turn to play the naysayer. “We can’t just _give_ Cadmus _both_ of us. That would be conceding all of our advantages and hoping for a miracle.”  
  
“You doubt my abilities to perform, Danvers?” challenges Maggie, a wry smile playing on her lips.  
  
“N—no,” stutters Alex, trying to maintain her professional composure around her boss and sister.  
  
Kara clears her throat awkwardly. “I actually agree with the detective on this one, Alex.”  
  
“All of our sources say that Cadmus is going to launch a new experiment soon. Perhaps if we keep their hands busy with this, we’ll prevent another disaster,” reasons J’onn.  
  
Alex sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Not you too…”  
  
“You’re the one that wanted to use your condition to infiltrate Cadmus,” counters J’onzz. “Despite the risks, I support you. But I do agree that you need backup.” Alex huffs. “Detective Sawyer may not be a DEO agent, but she’s been working this case as much as you and is as qualified for this mission.”  
  
Alex opens her mouth to protest yet again, but J’onn simply hardness his gaze and Alex knows she’s lost this battle.

* * *

 

“This will just hurt for a second,” says Alex, adjusting the needle in her grip.  
  
“That’s what they all say,” grimaces Maggie.  
  
“Hey, almost everyone requested to be my partner for the blood draw practical exam in Uni,” smiles Alex. The agent brushes aside Maggie’s hair. _It’s just to plant a subdermal tracking beacon. Breathe,_ Alex berates herself. “I’ve got a light touch.”  
  
“Yeah, I bet you do,” almost whispers Maggie, and Alex’s hand freezes, needle only millimeters away from skin.  
  
“Do you _want_ this to hurt?” Alex manages to snipe back. Maggie goes silent and Alex savors her minor victory before quickly finishing the task at hand. “Hold that there. Tightly,” instructs Alex, a gloved hand pressing on a small piece of gauze. Maggie complies and the agent tapes the gauze in place. “You can take that off in a few hours. And…” trails off Alex, reaching into her pocket. “This is for being a good sport,” teases the agent, handing over a lollipop.  
  
Maggie looks down at the treat with a mix of confusion, laughter, and mild annoyance. “Really?” Alex just laughs and Maggie has to wrestle her beating heart into submission. “You’re lucky I like raspberry.”

* * *

 

 

Maggie Sawyer hits each key on her keyboard with twice the amount of force needed. It was unnerving being cooped up in the NCPD building, perched behind a desk. She needed to run and punch some baddies. The full moon was only a day away and she was supposed to be resting up, but rest was the last thing on her mind.  
  
“You know, it’ll take months for IT to give you a new keyboard if you break that,” says Maggie’s partner across the other desk.  
  
Maggie glares at the Detective Poole. There are far more important things than keyboards right now. There’s Cadmus. There’s the fact she’s a werewolf. And there’s Tom _freaking_ Harris that needs to stop bathing in Axe body spray. “Then I’ll make it worthwhile and break this keyboard on that fat head of yours.”  
  
“Whoa, steady on, Sawyer.” Poole raises his hands in surrender. “I can see why the Chief gave you today off.”  
  
Maggie opens her mouth to send off another ill-founded sharp retort when the smell of something delicious cuts through the pervasive cologne. “You’re supposed to be taking it easy,” remarks a familiar voice and Maggie spins her chair around to meet it.  
  
“Agent Danvers,” greets Maggie. There’s a low whistle from Poole, and Maggie spares a second to glare daggers at her partner, who mimes a fake ‘Wasn’t me.’  
  
Alex sets down a brown paper bag at the detective’s desk, clearly the source of the divine smell. “Cheeseburger, side of fries,” gestures the agent with a nod of her head. “Knew you wouldn’t actually take my advice and stay home, so I thought you should at least eat lunch.”  
  
“You’re a godsend, Danvers,” Maggie breathes and Alex feels that all-too familiar longing jump in her stomach.  
  
“You should get some fresh air,” continues Alex, pushing through the feeling. “Besides, that guy in the corner must’ve taken a shower in cologne this morning,” comments the agent, wrinkling her nose.  
  
“Detective Harris,” Maggie rolls her eyes. “There’s a park just a block South of here,” says the detective, grabbing her coat and belongings. “You want to join me?” Alex nods.  
  
“Have fun with your date, Sawyer!” whisper-yells Poole.  
  
Maggie whips around and the other detective looks genuinely afraid for a moment. “Richard Oliver Poole you are _so_ lucky to still be alive.”

* * *

 

“So who was that?” asks Alex, breaking the silence in the elevator.  
  
“Detective Poole. Or more affectionately, Detective Dick. He’s my partner. A bit of an ass sometimes, but he’s a good guy. He’s covered my back more times than I can count and I’ve done the same for him.” There’s another silence and Maggie pulls out a fry from the bag and eats it. “So what really brings you around?”  
  
“I had a feeling you’d disobey house rest; so thought I could help you more with the wolf.”

* * *

 

“Taming your wolf is all about recognizing which feelings are wolf, which are human, and accepting those that are both.” Maggie suppressed a snicker. “What?”  
  
“Oh, I don’t know. It sounds like an AA meeting. How does it go? God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference… yeah.”  
  
“Maggie, this is serious.”  
  
“So are AA meetings.”  
  
The agent rolled her eyes. “It’s just that the full moon is tomorrow and I know you can feel it. And there’s the added stress off the mission and even I’ve been struggling to suppress the wolf.”  
  
Maggie turns to better face Alex on the shared park bench. The detective places a reassuring hand over the agent’s. “I’ll be fine, Alex.”  
  
Alex struggles to regain composure, staring down at Maggie’s hand on hers. “I… I don’t doubt your capabilities, Sawyer. It’s—”  
  
“All the talking in the world isn’t going to prepare me for the full moon. Not entirely,” cuts in Maggie. “And we’ve been talking. A lot. You’ve been patient and gentle and…” Maggie trails off, trying not to get carried away. “What I’m trying to say is that we’ve done all the preparation we can for this mission. Now we just have to trust each other.” Maggie gives Alex’s hand a tentative squeeze before pulling away. “And I trust you.”  
  
Alex swallows hard. “And I you,” she manages.  
  
Maggie smiles brightly and stuffs her hands in her pockets. “Well that’s that then.” Alex nods, still feeling a tad star struck. “So,” pushes Maggie, continuing as if nothing happened. “That couple, at my 10. How many dates?”  
  
Alex looks over at the young couple, situated under a tree. One was holding what looked like a sketch book, pencil moving freely about the pages and the other was simply a silent onlooker, unread book dangling in her hand. “None?” supplies Alex, unsure of her answer and quite thrown by the sudden change of topic.  
  
“I’d have to agree, Danvers,” says Maggie with a thoughtful nod of her head. “But ten bucks says that he,” referring the to one currently sketching “has known her for a long time. Bet they’re really close friends. They probably went to the prom together, but ‘as friends—because it’s more fun to go with friends.’ She secretly likes him but doesn’t want to say in fear of ruining their relationship.”  
  
“One-sided un-requited love? That’s a sad story you paint there, Sawyer,” snarks Alex, trying not to let her mind draw the parallels between these strangers and her own life.  
  
“Yeah, but look how relaxed, yet slightly guarded they _both_ are with each other,” Maggie continues. She goes into a short explanation of their micro expressions and posture. “They both like each other, but are too afraid to say anything,” concludes the detective.  
  
The agent looks over at Maggie, who was thoroughly enjoying herself as she constructed the lives of these two strangers. There’s no doubt in Alex’s mind that Maggie was a born detective. “Maybe we should tell them,” proffers Alex.  
  
The detective smiles. “It won’t make a difference. They’ll just deny it. They’ve got to discover it themselves.” Maggie shrugs. “They’ll figure it out eventually.”  
  
Alex still has her eyes fixed on Maggie. The curve of her lips, the light in her eyes… Alex smiles sadly, feeling oddly connected to the feelings of those two strangers under the tree. _Was it possible that…_ Alex shook herself. The detective had made their relationship clear, and Maggie was always one to speak her mind. So this wouldn’t be any different.  
  
…  
  
Right?

* * *

 

Supergirl hugs Alex close after the other DEO agents have departed to their assigned stations. Maggie is only a few feet away, changing behind a tree. Kara holds her sister’s head in her hands and looks her straight in the eyes, trying to convey every gambit of emotion that can’t be said in words. “Stay safe, okay?” Alex bites her lip slightly and nods. “Don’t do anything stupid. And for the love of Rao come back in one piece,” Kara threatens, despite the tears pricking at her eyes.  
  
Alex lets out a watery laugh and gathers her sister in another tight hug. “I’ll be back in time to dominate you at game night,” says Alex into her sister’s shoulder. “That’s a promise.” The two hold their embrace for what feels like an eternity before they both pull away.  
  
“Remember, you promised,” amends Kara before she shoots up into the sky and flies away.  
  
Alex stares up at the spot in the sky that Kara has disappeared from until a light throat clear causes her to spin around. “You really love her, don’t you?” asks Maggie, her voice soft. Alex smiles and casts her eyes downward. “You can say yes. She’s your sister after all.”  
  
The agent snaps her head up in surprise. “No, she—,” Alex starts to protest, but Maggie silences her with a look.  
  
“Please, Danvers. I get how glasses and a hair tie might fool the people who don’t know both Kara Danvers and Supergirl, but it’s my job to notice these things.”  
  
Alex looks down sheepishly. Of course Maggie would’ve figured it out.  
  
“I was fourteen when Kara came to live with us,” started Alex. “I hated it at first. I was always having to explain every little thing to her. I had _my_ friends and _my_ hobbies and then I had to share them with her. And then my parents doted on her, especially my dad. She cut into _my_ time. I thought it wasn’t fair,” Alex laughed at her past self for being so selfish.  
  
“But we were at school one day and I overhear Charlie Pickett call her a freak. And something just snaps in me. Charlie goes to push Kara down, and since she’s trying so hard to be human, she lets him. I knew she could lift a car with her pinky finger, yet there’s Kara on the ground, books all around her just _letting_ Charlie take her glasses. I stormed over and socked that bully smack in the nose, then just for good measure I kneed him right between the legs.”  
  
Maggie sucks in a sharp breath. “Ruthless,” she says, a smile playing on her lips.  
  
Alex chuckles. “A bit overkill, I know. But I just remember sitting next to Charlie, a pack of ice on his crotch and a wad of bloody towels on his nose, in the principal’s office feeling smug and invincible to any punishment I’d get, because _no one_ calls _my_ sister a freak.  
  
“It’s been an adventure ever since. I’d come home with a bloody lip or bruised knuckles and my mom would just shake her head and hand me a pack of frozen peas.”  
  
Maggie wraps the robe tighter around herself to fend off the colder night air. “I never had a sister. Thought it was better being an only child, but you two make me feel like I’m missing something.”  
  
Alex smiles fondly. “It’s hard having siblings, let alone one of them being a superhero from another planet. I gave up a lot of things. Put Kara first whenever making decisions. But I see who she is now. I see the countless lives she’s saved. And I wouldn’t change a single thing.”  
  
A comfortable silence stretches between the two. Alex finally looks up, the full moon glinting back at her. She can feel the familiar prickle of her skin as her hair stands on end, the pull deep within calling her to transform. “It’s time.” Maggie takes a shaky breath and nods. “Don’t worry, I won’t shift before you. Good luck, Sawyer.” The agent smiles encouragingly and Maggie takes another steadying breath.  
  
Maggie’s transformation is swift, aided by the full moon, and soon there is a large wolf in the place the detective once was. The wolf leans back on its haunches, hackles raised. Alex opens her arms and lowers her gaze. “Sawyer…” she starts, trying to sound as soothing as possible. The wolf barres its teeth. “Maggie, it’s me, Alex. Remember?” The animal flicks its tail, still clearly aggressive. “Maggie, don’t—” Alex notices the signs of a pounce and quickly abandons her human form.  
  
The wolf barrels into the agent only heartbeats after she shifts. Alex is operating with a calculating human mind, instead of Maggie’s clouded feral one, though, and the agent manages to flip their positions. Alex pins down the other wolf after a series of scuffles. The detective snaps and snarls beneath her, but Alex remains firm, displaying her teeth near the other’s neck in an attempt to have the wolf submit.  
  
It takes a few minutes, but Maggie calms beneath her. The detective blinks slowly, disoriented, and Alex notices the human surface within Maggie. All too suddenly, the agent realizes the compromising position they’re in and springs away as if on fire. _If wolves could blush_.  
  
Maggie rights herself and hangs her head, ears drooping, and tail swinging slowly side to side. An apology.  
  
Alex gently bumps her muzzle into Maggie’s neck. Forgiveness. The agent flicks her tail, the red streaks nestled in her brown coat glinting in the moonlight. Alex motions her head for Maggie to follow. They had to get closer to the city. Closer to Cadmus.  
  
Once the agent is sure Maggie has full control over her wolf, the agent lets out a howl, embracing the exhilaration of the transformation. Alex breaks into a full sprint through the forest, towards the city, Maggie by her side.

* * *

 

The two wolves padded around the outskirts of National City, ears and eyes alert for any signs of danger. Alex had to admit she enjoyed the run here almost too much. Ever since she’d been turned into a werewolf those six years ago, she’d been forced to run alone. She was under her sister’s watchful eye, but never had an equal to share in this experience that had become part of her life.  
  
Alex swore she’d never felt so _alive_ during a transformation than the one right now. She wasn’t sure if it was her wolf reaching out to a pack member, or her human heart yearning to fill a space she never knew was so empty, but at this moment in time, glancing over at Maggie, she didn’t care. It just felt _right_.  
  
An unfamiliar and out of place scent halts Alex’s musings. She can tell Maggie picked up on it too. The other wolf is intently sniffing the air around her. It only takes an exchanged glance before the two change direction and head for the origin of the scent.

* * *

 

“Ehhy!” cheers one of the Cadmus agents with glee. His voice is muffled by the full blown bomb protection-like suit he’s in. There’s a tranquilizer gun resting in his gloved hands, and an array of more lethal weaponry lining his person. “Two! Two mutts, can you believe it? Big fat bonus for us, boys!” he shouts to his other two companions, outfitted in the same gear.  
  
Alex growls, ears pinned back, lips pulled back in a snarl, and hackles raised. Maggie’s doing the same, although Alex worries that the detective’s wolf is gaining control under the presence of a threat.  
  
The Cadmus operative on the right brandishes a beefed-up version of an electric cattle prod. Alex snaps her teeth at him and he flinches ever so slightly. Under normal circumstances they could easily overpower or evade these three idiots in front of them, but they needed to be captured. And it needed to look real.  
  
Alex lunged, dodging the electric arc swung at her. She senses Maggie fly into action too, slamming into the one holding the tranquilizer gun. Alex bites down hard, and shakes the man’s arm, causing him to release his weapon, but the material of his suit doesn’t give her any leverage and her grip slips.  
  
The DEO agent swipes at her attacker’s helmet, her claws skating uselessly off of the clear viewport. The buckles stay fast, securing his suit into one, werewolf-proof sheet of armor. Alex pins the man with her weight and chances a glance over to Maggie, who has the Cadmus agent face down in the dirt and is snapping at the back of his neck. There’s little reserve in the detective’s actions and Alex only hopes that there’s enough humanity still in control not to compromise the mission.  
  
The third Cadmus agent, shocked at the sudden attack of the two wolves finally comes to his senses and draws a knife from his belt. Taking advantage of Alex’s pause from her onslaught, he leaps forward and buries the blade into the wolf’s side. Alex stumbles off of her current target with a mix of a snarl and yelp of pain.  
  
The knife’s hilt slips out of the Cadmus agent’s hand and remains buried in Alex’s side. The wolf gnashes her teeth, the sting of metal far greater than normal. _Silver_ , curses the logical part of her.  
  
At Alex’s pained yelp, Maggie abandons her attack on the downed Cadmus agent and slams herself full force into the one that stabbed Alex. The detective attacks the man with unchecked rage, her claws and teeth bashing the helmet from side to side with astonishing force. The wolf had taken over.  
  
A buckle on the Cadmus operative’s helmet snapped, and Maggie’s whole body went ridged with the prospect of blood. _No, no,_ pleaded Alex internally. _Don’t_ —she made to stop the detective, but the man with the electric prod regained his weapon and caught her in the throat, too distracted to doge. Alex goes down.  
  
The action causes a slight pause from Maggie, who was heartbeats from lunging at the exposed flesh of the Cadmus agent. That moment was all the other operatives needed, and a tranquilizer dart sprouts in Maggie’s hide. The wolf whips her head around to face the source of the prick of pain, but over-rotates, the fast-acting drugs pushing through her veins. A second later, she’s rendered unconscious. Alex soon follows.

* * *

 

Maggie Sawyer comes to on the floor of a barred cell. The concrete flooring cold against her skin. The detective props herself up and looks around. A pile of clothes sits in the corner of her cell and she eagerly dons the slightly-too-large pants and shirt. _Waking up with a killer headache, no clothes, and no idea where she is_. There’s a slight flash-back to her years in the Academy.  
  
The room around her is small and windowless, split into two cells. Two guards were positioned at the exit.  
  
There’s a groan next to her and Maggie looks over at Alex, just rousing from her own tranquilizer-induced sleep. A very _unclothed_ Alex, realizes the detective, who does the fastest about-face and beats down the rising blush in the cheeks. “You okay?” she asks, back still facing the agent.  
  
Alex winces as she sits upright, the wound on her side stinging and throbbing horribly. It was stitched hastily and covered in a bandage, which was now tinged red. “I’m fine,” Alex replies, her mouth is dry and her stomach aches for sustenance. “One of those idiots stabbed me with a silver blade. It’s going to take a while to heal.” The agent watches as the Maggie’s figure stiffen slightly at the information.  
  
“You were too focused on me. I should’ve been able to maintain better control—”  
  
“It’s not your fault,” says Alex, halting Maggie’s guilty rambling. The agent reaches for the clothes in the corner of her cell and grimaces as the act of pulling on a shirt pulls ignites the pain in her wound. “We knew there was a possibility of one of use getting hurt. There’s nothing you could have done differently to prevent this.”  
  
“Yes, but maybe if I hadn’t completely ‘wolfed out’ you could’ve seen that coming or, or…” struggles the detective.  
  
“I’m alive, aren’t I?” says Alex, painfully pulling her pants on. Maggie nods. “Then you have nothing to be sorry for.”  
  
Maggie sighs and runs a hand through her hair. “Fine,” she admits.  
  
“I’m decent. You can turn around,” says the agent, a wry smile on her lips. The detective turns to face Alex and smiles.  
  
“At least they gave us clothes,” comments Maggie. “Although I’m not so sure it’s my style,” she jokes, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
They were both captives of Cadmus, a wholly unknown enemy. Armed with only their wit, they were tasked with gathering information and then destroying the organization. With no knowledge of _why_ Cadmus was interested in werewolves, any wrong move could end fatally. Or worse.  
  
“You’d look good in a burlap sack,” snarks back Alex, fully aware of the weight of their mission, but good morale was key, she reasoned.  
  
Maggie glances over at the guards by the door and notes that there are probably cameras watching their every move and recording their every conversation. “Where are we?” she asks, playing along with her undercover role.  
  
Alex glances around and shrugs. “No idea. Let’s just hope we can get out of here,” she says, trying to convey her hopes and fears for the mission in one covert sentence.  
  
Maggie picks up on the message and smiles. “Don’t worry. We will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *insert dramatic fade out* ... Next time: the true motives of Cadmus are revealed and both Alex and Maggie do whatever it takes to complete their mission.
> 
> Comments, kudos, secret chocolate chip recipes, etc are all very much appreciated!


	6. The Woodsman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cadmus. Werewolves. Bang. Crash. Pew Pew. Boom. Pizza. Sexual tension.

“They’re gone!” shouts Winn. He tosses his hot pocket next to the keyboard and straightens his tie as he leans closer to the monitors.  
  
J’onn is at the tech’s side in an instant. “What happened?”  
  
“Their trackers. They just blipped off the map,” replied Winn, furiously typing at the keyboard.  
  
“Can you get them back?”  
  
“I…” Winn bits his lip in concentration. “There must some sort of dampening field or… Maybe if I isolate the…”  
  
“Just get it done quickly, Agent Schott. They could send a distress signal at any time.”  
  
“Yes, sir.” Winn runs a hand through his hair and scarfs down the last of his food.

* * *

 

Maggie Sawyer leaned further into the bars of her cell, trying to find a position that didn’t fatigue her back as much. It had been hours? Minutes? Since both Alex and Maggie had awoken in their cells, now captives of Cadmus.  
  
The detective looked over at Alex, who was now sleeping on the metal bench in her cell. Even in unconsciousness, the agent wore a slight furrow in her brow—understandably so. There was the cloying sense of hunger Maggie knew Alex was experiencing coupled with the heavy metallic scent of blood in the air that signaled the agent’s side wound was refusing to close.  
  
Maggie frowned. She couldn’t help but worry for Alex’s safety. Although, the detective was comforted by the fact that Alex was not going through this alone. That there was some chance that Maggie could make a difference. As small as those chances were, locked behind Silver-Nth metal bars and monitored by guards with explicit “no talking, no touching” rules. The detective closed her eyes, perhaps she could follow Alex’s example and quiet her aching stomach and frayed nerves by escaping to sleep.  
  
The sound of the door opening ripped away any chance Maggie had of relaxing. Her senses jumped into overtime and her nerves increased two fold. She took a steadying breath. This was the first real interaction they would have with Cadmus and every one after this would be on borrowed time. Alex awoke from her sleep, as attentive as Maggie to the situation.  
  
“Welcome!” greeted the entering figure, flanked by two others. “Now, if you’ll comply with a few routine tests we can get down to business.” The woman nodded to her assistants, and they scurried over the Alex and Maggie’s cells.  
  
“What do you want with us?” asked Alex first, her voice rough.  
  
“No, the correct answer is, what can _we_ do for _you_?” tutted the woman. Her features were sharp, hair pulled back and back straight. She clasped her hands in front of her and nodded approvingly as both Maggie and Alex complied with the series of quick blood draws, heart rate check, and other tests.  
  
The woman smiled, the corner of her lips restrained. “I’m sure you’re famished. We have enough experience to know how many calories are needed for a transformation.” The assistants slipped what looked like a generic brand granola bar through the metal bars. “Eat up.” Alex raised a speculative eyebrow at the small brick in her hand. “Please, don’t mock us. We make _monsters_. Don’t think we can’t pack upwards of three thousand calories into a single bar.”  
  
Maggie was the first to take a tentative nibble. If Cadmus wanted to poison them, this would have to be the least effective way. The bar tasted like ash and tar, but her demanding stomach accepted it readily. She tried not to finish it too fast.  
  
“Right then. Welcome to Cadmus. You’ve been selected to become a part of our revolutionary new program based on your superhuman abilities.”  
  
“You must have us mistaken for someone else. Please, my friend needs medical—” started Maggie, but was cut off by a dismissive hand wave.  
  
“Cadmus does not— _I_ do not make mistakes. You two are perfect specimens to help us in our goal to usher in a new world. I give you an ultimatum: You can participate in these activities and we will make your time with us professional and comfortable. Or, and I urge you to consider that the last werewolf who chose this route is now helping my rose bush bloom quite nicely,” the woman smirked, gaze cold. “Or you can resist and I will take from you what I need regardless, giving back only what I deem is necessary,” the woman examined her fingernails with passive disinterest. “Food, water, the like. But only when the mood strikes me.”  
  
The detective frowned. They were in deep, and they were only going deeper. “We’ll comply. Please, just help my friend,” pleaded Maggie.  
  
The woman sighed dramatically. “Yes, I _did_ tell those idiots not to cause harm. But I suppose it doesn’t matter what field, the adage remains true: good help is hard to come by.” She glances down at Alex, who is now seated with a hand gently resting over her side. “I’ll send someone by later.”   
  
With a sharp spin on her heels, the woman goes to leave. “Wait!” calls out Alex. The woman stops short and turns around, annoyance clearly painted on her face. Alex swallows. She knows she’s pushing the envelope. “Can you at least tell us who you are?”  
  
The woman’s face cracks into a steely smile, a sinister glint reaching her eyes. “Soon no one in the world will be asking that question. My name is Lillian Luthor. Remember that if your compliance ever wavers.”  
  
Alex glances over at Maggie, eyes equally wide with shock. _What did they get themselves into?_

* * *

 

“Ah ha!” shouts Winn triumphantly. “I’ve managed to isolate their location to a one-mile radius.” The tech takes a swig of his energy drink and straightens his back, vertebrae popping into place from his prolonged hunched position.  
  
“You can do better than that,” pushes J’onn.  
  
Winn frowned, his momentary victory deflated in a heartbeat. “Yes, sir,” he sighs. J’onn nods and turns away from the working techie. “It’s not like I completed what would have taken anyone else weeks to do in the span of a day,” grumbles Winn under his breath.  
  
“I heard that Agent Schott,” calls J’onn from the head of the room.  
  
The tech immediately casts his eyes downwards, ashamed. “I mean, yes sir. On it, sir.”  
  
J’onn’s lips turn up into a half-smile. “Good work, Schott.”

* * *

 

Alex Danvers suppressed a wince as the needle passed through her skin once again. If it were any other wound, it would’ve already been healed in her wolf form and she would not be subjected to receiving stitches. The silver blade had pierced deep into her side, and her the reaction with her werewolf blood largely inhibited clotting and thus delayed the healing process.  
  
“I heard there was another werewolf here. Did you meet them?” asked Alex tentatively. The assistants were much more likely to accidentally spill secrets than Lillian Luthor ever would.  
  
“I’m not supposed to talk to you,” replied the mousey doctor, tying off the last stitch.  
  
“I won’t tell,” smiled Alex, trying to play the nice guy card. “It’s just that we didn’t ask for any of this. One day we were minding our own business, and then we wake up here. Please, I only want to know a bit more about where we’re being held.”  
  
The doctor shook his head, fixing the last of the bandage into place. “I’m sorry. I can’t say anything.” He left in a hurry.  
  
“Worth a shot,” commented Maggie, arms crossed, leaning on the bars.  
  
Alex sighed. “Yeah, but we’re nowhere near getting to—”  
  
“No talking,” barked one of the guards. Alex shot him a glare.

* * *

 

“I’ve heard you’ve been asking questions,” said Lillian as she strode into the room. “Now, I understand the curious mind. Science would not have reached the heights it has without those who dared to ask questions. So I will allow you this one minor indiscretion.”  
  
The Luthor straighten herself even further and clasped her hands behind her back. “This lab, Cadmus, was originally created for the purpose of cloning. It seems men are obsessed with living forever. But I find the concept so… passé.” Lillian scoffed.  
  
“Imagine a utopia. It’s mildly entertaining to do so, but incredibly naïve. Because what most small-minded individuals and bleeding hearts don’t realize is the effort it would take to achieve. The steps it would take to force the populous to cooperate. The sacrifices needed to ensure it lasted.” Lillian took a step forward, her heels echoing in the baited silence.  
  
“See, the fundamental problem behind those issues is that they want everyone to enjoy, equally, the benefits of this utopia. That is impossible. And besides, not everyone is deserving,” adds in Luthor off handedly. “No, there are monsters on our earth now. They may bring offers of peace and betterment, but they are more powerful than us, with technologies that are centuries ahead of ours. So we will change, transform, to overcome them before their demonous roots have a chance to take hold.”  
  
Lillian takes a moment to glare down at both Maggie and Alex from her high soapbox before continuing. “Those not deserving of this new world will transform to be the monsters we fight. They will protect Earth from the alien threat and we will not mourn for those soldiers lost, because they will be the same as the ones they shield us from.” The Luthor grins, but her face is devoid of mirth. “Quite ingenuous, no? See, unlike the old vision of Cadmus, I’m devoted to change. For _ideas_ , groundbreaking ideas—those are truly immortal.”  
  
A heavy silence filled the room, much different from the stagnant one that normally encased it. This silence was weighed down with the magnitude of Lillian Luthor’s words. Her delivery left no doubt that she would do whatever it would take to make her vision reality.  
  
“You can’t do that!” protested Maggie, incredulous.  
  
Lillian shot the detective a glare that could freeze fire. “I’m already there. There’s a meager amount of steps left before I can launch my plan. And the secrets in your blood are the key. We simply need to incur a transformation.” The Luthor raises her hand, and several more guards march into the room. “With that, I nominate you to be our first participant on this round of tests.”  
  
“No, wait! The transformations are completely involuntary. I don’t know what you’re looking for but I’m a scientist! I can help you,” scrambled Alex. Transforming was still new to Maggie, and she feared what another shifting so close to the last would do. At least Alex had had experience with it.  
  
“Save your pathetic attempts to stall the inevitable. Cadmus has resources to knowledge you wouldn’t believe. There has been documented transformations apart from the full moon. Most notably a werewolf attacked one of _our_ test subjects in the middle of National City.” Lillian smirked.  
  
Maggie relented Alex’s attempts to switch circumstances. The agent was wounded by silver, and from what the detective could gather, in-between the reprimanding guards, was that silver took a heavy toll on werewolves. Maggie could not, in good conscience, let Alex be at the mercy of Cadmus with a handicap like that.  
  
“I’m a detective for the NCPD,” challenged Maggie. “Why do you think the police arrived at that scene? It was me,” lied the detective. “She’s new to this werewolf thing, I swear. I just bumped into her last month and we decided to run together for the next full moon.”  
  
Alex shot Maggie a concerned look. “There’s got to be some—”  
  
Lillian clapped her hands together once, the sharp sound bouncing off the concrete walls, silencing the conversation. “This isn’t up for debate. You,” she turned towards one of her guards. “Take that one to the lab,” the Luthor pointed towards Alex.  
  
“No, you—!” Maggie was immediately silenced by a guard swinging his baton at her cell bars.  
  
The guard wrestled Alex into a pair of cuffs and shoved her out of the cell. The guard shoves her unnecessarily once again, towards the door. There’s fifty different ways that run through Alex’s mind on how the agent could get free and beat the guard’s face to a pulp, but she refrains. It would only cause more trouble for herself and for Maggie. She had to trust the detective to the right thing.  
  
Alex walked out with her head held high, full confidence in Maggie.

* * *

 

Winn scratched his head and leaned closer to his monitor. “Status update,” came J’onn’s rough voice from behind him and the tech jumped slightly, so absorbed in his work.  
  
“I’ve managed to isolate the signal to one city block, there’s—” his monitor flashed. A dot pinged for only a moment. “What?” His fingers flitted over the keys. “That was the distress signal! It only cut through whatever interference it’s under for a moment, but I’ve got their location.”  
  
“Just in time,” said J’onn, already reaching for his radio. With a quick command, he mobilized the awaiting units to the location. A gust of wind tore past them as Supergirl received the news and was out the door in a literal flash.

* * *

 

Alex took a steading breath. They had locked her in some kind of pressurized container, monitoring her through a series of cameras and sensors placed inside the unit. Her side still pained with every movement and now her head was foggy from whatever they had injected her with. If a transformation was want they wanted, perhaps she should just give it to them, rather than allow them to force her to shift under their terms.  
  
The agent closed her eyes, trying to center herself in order to shift into her wolf. Her mind swam, unable to pin down what was wolf and what was human. Whatever drugs they had administered were kicking into full effect. The agent cursed under her breath. This was not good.  
  
Alex’s eyes snapped open. The air began to thin around her, and her breathing became labored. _What?_ Her mind felt dizzy, starved of oxygen. Alex blinked, trying in vain to clear the spots forming in her vision. A realm of her mind, that felt like another universe, registered her nose bleeding. A shaky hand came away from her face tinged red. She blinked, but her vision returned only black.  
  
Alex felt as though she was falling. Her legs gave away, but the rest of her body never felt it reached the ground. Then, in a heartbeat her whole being slammed back into reality, the world around her flooding in with a sharp breath. All too vibrant colors swirled in her vision as her brain struggling to catch up to the sensory overload. The astringent smell of the chamber, the cold texture of the metal, all seemed to be dialed up to one-hundred and down to zero at the same time.  
  
The agent staggered a few steps forward, bumping into the walls of the locked chamber before she finally normalized, only to notice that she was in her wolf form. It was unlike any transformation Alex had ever endured, though. The human portion of herself felt as though it was  rooted in a spectator’s view high up in the nosebleed section of her brain, while the wolf portion took over, filled with fear and anger, reacting as any animal shackled and pinned in a corner would do.  
  
The wolf lunged at the door. The bolts didn’t even so much as rattle. Alex snarled, her tail flicked aggressively back and forth as she stalked the small confines of the chamber. Her whole mind was buzzing in neon lights, barely a coherent thought travelled through her brain. The wolf’s claws itched to sink into flesh, her very tongue felt parched without the taste of blood. The small human part of Alex’s mind tried desperately to reign in the wolf’s rage, but she grasped only empty air. The panic that came with this realization was quickly swept away by the unyielding feral force within her.  
  
The unbridled wolf was free and at Camdus’ disposal.

* * *

 

“Open it,” demanded Supergirl, her eyes full of fire rivaling even her heat vision. The superhero had a lead scientist in a vice grip by the front of his shirt, lifting him up off the ground.  
  
“The—the subject is highly unstable!” cried out the scientist, feet flailing uselessly in the air. “It could kill us all!”  
  
“Then _fix_ her,” growled Supergirl, tightening her grip even further. The scientist yelped. “Or I will toss you into the next solar system.”  
  
Maggie Sawyer watched the scene with cold eyes. Although first slightly taken back by the usual jovial superhero’s vengeful attitude, the detective wouldn’t have had it any other way. It was only poetic that the scene played out on the backdrop of Lillian Luthor defeated and handcuffed being escorted out, followed by her similarly detained goons and lab jockeys.  
  
Maggie recalled the moments of silence waiting for the DEO rescue team. They were deafening and felt like hours, but conversely the explosive action following Supergirl and the DEO’s arrival felt like mere seconds. Bullets flew, sparks arced through the air, and, once Maggie was freed, she even got in a few solid, satisfying punches. It had all ended when Lillian Luthor had made, the detective begrudged to admit, an impressive last stand that resulted in a quarter of the underground lab exploding.  
  
Maggie glanced at the sparking monitors, full of static and cutting out every so often, but none the less displaying the detained roving wolf. It was clear this was not the Alex she had come to known, but a twisted beast. The detective only hoped that Alex Danvers was still hidden somewhere under the snarling mass of fur and muscle.  
  
“We can’t, we can’t,” blubbered the scientist, still in Supergirl’s grip. Maggie huffed. They weren’t getting anywhere. The chamber holding Alex was made of Nth metal, too strong even against Supergirl and the only person, who wasn’t Lillian Luthor, who could open the chamber had devolved into a simpering mess.  
  
The detective cocked her borrowed pistol, the sound causing both scientist and Supergirl to face her direction. “Put him down,” said Maggie calmly, her voice even despite her inner turmoil.  
  
Kara blinked. Her mouth opened a fraction as if to protest, but one look at Maggie caused her to comply. Supergirl released her hold and the scientist crumpled to his knees.  
  
Maggie bridged the space between them in two confidence strides. She places the muzzle of the gun flush to the back to the scientist’s head. “You have two choices,” hissed the detective, voice low and threatening. “You either _maybe_ are placed at the mercy of the wolf, or I _definitely_ pull the trigger.” Maggie pushes the gun closer to emphasize her point. “Open. It,” she growls.  
  
The scientist breaks down even further, tears running freely now. He nods rapidly. “Okay,” he splutters. “Okay, okay!”  
  
Kara raises an eyebrow as Maggie marches through to the panel locking the chamber’s door. The superhero is unsure if she should reprimand or congratulate the detective’s unorthodox and forceful method.  
  
The scientist types in the security code with shaking hands, fumbling more than once. Maggie’s gun presses into his back, a constant reminder of his failure to cooperate.  
  
A hiss fills the air as the pressurized locking mechanism is unbolted. The door to the chamber slides open and Maggie drops her firearm, allowing the scientist to scurry away.  
  
The detective knows it’s not safe to be this close to an unknown threat. But this threat was Alex Danvers. This was the same person who could disarm a criminal blindfolded and handcuffed, yet failed at hiding her blushes. This was the Alex that brought her coffee and quickly learned Maggie’s favorite take out joints to order from during late nights working on the case. This was the person who could spout out theories deserving of desertion papers and then deliver a corny pun in the same breath. This was the Alex who would do anything to protect her little sister and would lay down her life for her city. That Alex had to be _somewhere._  
  
The wolf lunged out of the chamber. Its hackles we straight on end, ears stuck back, and teeth barred and seeking blood. The creature’s eyes blazed with anger. The wolf swept the room and turned to face Maggie. It lunged, and Maggie raised her gun instinctively. She wouldn’t shoot, though. She _couldn’t._  
  
Supergirl was between Maggie and the wolf in an instant. The creature’s claws skated off Kara’s skin. The superhero shoved the wolf back, but it recovered and made to lunge at Supergirl again.  
  
“Alex, listen!” barked Kara. The wolf only snarled and managed to capture Supergirl’s arm in a vice grip between its jaws. Kara struggled with the wolf, and spared a moment to turn to the shocked detective. “Get back,” commanded the superhero, managing to detangled herself from the wolf. “I’ve done this before.”  
  
Maggie nodded numbly. Granted, she’d only seen Alex in her wolf form a few times, but never would she have imagined the sheer power and rage that Alex’s wolf form belied. The fight between sisters only served to remind Maggie how much Alex and Kara must have gone through during the agent’s transition from human to werewolf. Alex had hinted to the many full moons struggling to gain control over her feral side under the watch of Kara, but never could Maggie fully imagine that struggle until now.  
  
“Alex, it’s me, Kara,” pleaded Supergirl between dodging attacks and serving up her own restrained counterattacks, which were delivered with an apologetic wince.  
  
“Come on, remember high school when Tommy Macalone ended up with pudding smashed on his face?” The wolf growled, unphased.  
  
“You’re better than this, Alex! You remember all those nights watching movies with me? You always let me have first picks, even though I steal the blankets and eat the cookie dough out of the ice cre—” The words were knocked out of Kara’s mouth as the wolf delivered a particularly staggering blow.  
  
“Alex!” Supergirl had finally managed to pin the wolf down. “You promised me game night!” Kara half pouted, half begged, and fully shouted.  
  
The wolf stilled.  
  
“Alex?” asked Maggie cautiously from the sidelines.  
  
There was a long stretch of silence, Supergirl still holding fast to the agent, ready to spring into action again if needed. Then Kara relaxed, and changed her securing grip into that of a hug. Maggie let out a pent up breath she was unaware she was holding.  
  
The two sisters uncoiled from their embrace, and Alex nuzzled her head into her sister’s side. A clear heartfelt apology. Kara laughed, voice wet with tears of relief. The superhero patted the agent’s head, giving a quick scratch behind her ears. Alex’s tail swished back and forth in clear enjoyment.  
  
Maggie couldn’t help but smile. There was no doubt that Alex and Kara had an unbreakable bond—the epitome of the word sisters.  
  
“You scared us there, Danvers,” said Maggie.  
  
The wolf turned her head to face the detective, ears and tail drooped. Guilt.  
  
“But Lillian Luthor is going to be behind bars and Cadmus will never harm another alien again,” smiled Maggie.  
  
Alex padded over to the detective and nudged Maggie’s hand with her muzzle. The wolf’s eyes were full of human emotion, relaying depths of concern.  
  
Maggie donned a reassuring smile, and gave Alex’s back a tentative pet. She was still unsure about the grey area of intimacy on a wolf level, but deemed the action not untoward. “It’s over now. It’s going to be okay.” Alex blinked up at Maggie, somehow looking unconvinced. “I still think you’re an amazing person. Nothing will ever change that.”  
  
Alex rubbed her head further into Maggie’s side, tail wagging slowly. A thanks. _And maybe some embarrassment?_ extrapolated the detective.  
  
“C’mon, lets get you some clothes.”

* * *

 

Once outside of Cadmus’ lab and behind a more secluded DEO van, Kara draped an oversized blanket over Alex’s wolf form. The agent laid down and tried to calm herself. The stress of the forced transformation and the remaining drugs Cadmus had administered were making it particularly difficult to target the human aspects of her mind.  
  
Maggie respectfully turned around and leaned against the side of the van. Kara sat down next to the wolf and stroked Alex’s fur. “No rush,” murmured the younger Danvers sister.  
  
A quiet, strangled whimper escaped the agent’s muzzle. The sound cut Maggie deeper than expected. Her heart couldn’t help but reach out to Alex’s.  
  
There was shuffle of activity and Maggie turned around to see a now human Alex, wrapped in a blanket and sitting on the back bumper of the van.  
  
“Screw you, cortisol,” grumbled Alex, voice rough with mistreatment. “And silver. That can go rot in a corner as well.”  
  
Maggie had to suppress a chuckle. If she wasn’t witness to the recent events, she would’ve thought Alex was disgruntled at a hangover, rather than recovering from surviving the battle with Cadmus.  
  
“I’ll stop by your place for some clothes. Take it easy. I’ll be back in a minute,” said Kara, giving her sister a light hug, before flying off.  
  
“Are you okay?” asked Alex, turning to Maggie. The detective feels Alex’s eyes focus on the bruise blossoming on her cheek, received during Maggie’s scuffles with Cadmus operatives.  
  
Maggie rolls her eyes and sits down next to the agent, the van dipped slightly at the added weight. “I’m _fine_. I should be asking you that question. You were the one stabbed by a silver knife, then forced to transform, and then subjected to God-knows-what Cadmus tests. And you’re asking me if _I’m_ okay.”  
  
Alex shrugs sheepishly. “I’m alright.” Maggie raises a skeptical eyebrow. “Considering the circumstances,” concedes Alex.  
  
“You’ve done so much for this case,” says Maggie.  
  
“You too,” Alex is quick to add.  
  
Maggie nods slowly. She feels like she didn’t contribute half as much as Alex did, but she’s sure that if she vocalized the thought, the agent would vehemently deny it.  
  
“Thanks for having my back,” says Maggie.  
  
“And you mine,” amends Alex.  
  
“But it was foolish to volunteer to be taken away in my place.”  
  
“I couldn’t let Cadmus force a shift on you,” says Alex, securing the blanket tighter around herself. “I remember my first time I made the mistake of transforming the day after another shift. I was still new to it all and was determined to master the changes, so the moment I felt well enough to transform, I did. Big mistake. Not only was it near impossible to do so, but it left my entire body in a state of pain for weeks. Even werewolf physiology can’t withstand that much breaking and re-mending of bones, ligaments, and muscle.”  
  
“I could’ve handled that,” counters Maggie. “I was worried about your silver-inflicted wound. What’s a week of discomfort to a potentially unknown problem?” Maggie bites her lip and continues. “I had no clue what transforming with that sort of wound would do to you. I didn’t want to take that risk.”  
  
Alex shakes her head. “But I can’t imagine if it were you in that chamber. Cadmus, they… I had never felt so out of control. I was helpless to the wolf. It was…” Alex swallowed. She was not one to show her fears and emotions, but as everything with Maggie, she felt safe to speak freely. “I was so scared, trapped in my own mind. And when I attacked Kara…”  
  
“Hey, it’s okay,” reassures Maggie, placing a hand on the agent’s shoulder.  
  
Alex takes a deep breath. “Breaking the hold Cadmus’ forced wolf had on me was one of the hardest things I had to do. I’d hate to wonder if I couldn’t have… Or if you were in that position and couldn’t…” Alex shuddered.  
  
“Hey. You’re alive. I’m alive. National City, scratch that, the _world_ is safe. Plus I got to punch Lillian Luthor in her smug face so that’s not nothing.”  
  
Alex chuckled tiredly. “I’m disappointed I missed that.”  
  
“You should be,” beams back Maggie.  
  
“All in a day’s work,” grins Alex cheekily. She ran a hand over her face and through her hair. “I could sleep for days,” sighed the agent. “I probably will too. Right after I eat my weight in burgers.”  
  
Maggie laughed. Alex’s heart fluttered. She swore she could never grow tired of seeing the detective happy. The agent subconsciously leaned into Maggie’s touch, hand still on Alex’s shoulder.  
  
It was that moment that Kara landed in front of the two in a gust of wind. “Clothes! And pizza, to curb the hunger for now,” grinned Kara, extending the items like she was Santa Claus.  
  
“Thank you,” Alex almost moans around a slice of pizza. Maggie blushes bright red, and is glad no one is looking her way. The agent takes a break from the heavenly triangle of food to slip on a shirt and sweatpants. Maggie looks away and blushes even redder.  
  
“I still can’t believe a Luthor was behind this,” says Kara, stealing a slice of pizza, despite the friendly slap on the wrist from Alex.  
  
“She was close to completing her goal. I don’t have any doubt about that. It’s lucky we stopped her in time.”  
  
“What she wanted would have been disastrous,” agrees Maggie, her racing heart and red face now under a bit more control.  
  
Kara pouted. “I’m not looking forward to breaking the news to Lena.”  
  
“She’ll appreciate hearing it from you, rather than in the news tomorrow,” reassured Alex.  
  
Kara nodded. Alex reached for the last slice of pizza in the first box and handed it over to Maggie insisting she eat as well. Maggie relented at first, but caved in the end. She could never resist Alex… or pizza.  
  
“It’ll take months for the DEO to sort through all of that lab equipment and experiments,” said Kara, opening the second box of pizza. “There were other aliens in captivity too. You put yourself in danger and saved a lot of lives. I just sat around twiddling my thumbs. You were a real superhero, Alex.”  
  
The agent paused. The adoration pouring off of her sister was almost too much to handle at the moment. There were so many things she wished she could’ve done better. Wished that they could’ve prevented Cadmus from escalating to the degree it did. Wished she had never attacked her sister. But Maggie and Kara were right, it was over and those she cared about were safe.  
  
“Love you too, sis,” simply replied Alex. She knew Kara understood. “I couldn’t have done it without Maggie, though,” adds the agent.  
  
“Yeah,” Maggie smiled. “We make a good team, Danvers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. That has to be _the hardest_ chapter I've had to write thus far. Mostly due to length, but also my sense of plot direction shifted back and forth while writing the first drafts. As always, shoot me some feedback, criticism, suggestions, etc below! (They're what keep me going, honestly) 
> 
> Next and final (?) chapter: Quality Maggie and Alex time and That's pretty gay, Danvers™


	7. Lunar Eclipse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion (finally!). Sanvers fluff. Playful wolves. Sanvers fluff. The obligatory shovel talk. And did I mention Sanvers fluff?

It had been weeks since Cadmus’ downfall, and although Alex was _still_ sorting through the inventory of the secret lab, work had returned to usual. Or as usual as work at the DEO could get. But it wasn’t the fallout of Cadmus that brought the agent to Maggie Sawyer’s door. It was the fact that the next full moon was in less than a week and the detective had been adamant to finally try her first self-incurred transformation.  
  
Alex stood in front of the detective’s door, one hand holding a bag full of enough take out to feed a small army and the other in a fist raised to knock. The agent was frozen in place. The prospect of seeing Maggie outside of work, alone, still haunted her.  
  
The extra time spent with Maggie surrounding the Cadmus case hadn’t helped ease the pining she had first developed for the detective. It had done the opposite—strengthened it. Now more than ever Alex wanted to be more than friends with Maggie. It was becoming almost unbearable to see the detective and know that she wouldn’t be ever be hers. Alex found herself wrestling with the desire to wrap her arm around Maggie and hold her close while they shared a drink and watched a show on the couch. Her heart still stopped every time Maggie flashed a smile and her world glowed every time Maggie said her name.  
  
It was all kinds of bad, Alex reprimanded herself. She wanted Maggie in her life, and if that meant swallowing her feelings and settling for friends, she’d do it.  
  
The weeks following Cadmus’ demise were made more bearable by her lack of free time. Alex’s time and energy had been placed into cleaning up and untangling the cobwebs Cadmus left behind and Maggie respectively had a backlog of cases to finish. But now here they were, with a little time to spare each, and Alex was stressed all over again.  
  
Alex made to knock again, quelling the “high school crush” but the door opened unaided. The agent blinked dumbly at Maggie, her mind slowly returning from her lost thoughts.  
  
“I smelled the food, then watched you stand in front of my door like a dork for a solid five minutes. Come inside before the neighbors gossip,” joked Maggie, opening the door wider.  
  
Alex laughed nervously. _She could do this. She’s_ been _doing this._ “Sorry.” _Friends. Just friends,_ Alex mentally stressed. The agent stepped through the door and chanced a look around. Despite all of the time the two spent together during the Cadmus case, Alex had never gotten the chance to step into Maggie’s apartment.  
  
“You can put the food on the counter,” said Maggie, gesturing to the kitchen island. “Cold beer?” Alex nodded. She needed all the help she could get.  
  
“I hope you don’t mind me coming over,” managed Alex past the tightness in her throat. She took a long swig from her beer. _This was going just fantastic_ , chimed her sarcastic inner dialogue.  
  
“No, it’s not a problem. You were bound to visit eventually,” smiled Maggie. “Anyways, there’s the couch if you’d like to sit… and there’s the coffee table. And there’s the TV…” _Oh good, Maggie, keep naming furniture items, as if that’s interesting._  
  
Alex chuckled lightly. _Okay, maybe it wasn’t going_ absolutely _terribly._ “Did you want to have a bite to eat first before we jump into this? Or something else? We don’t have to even do this today. I mean I know how—”  
  
“Danvers, what have I been saying?”  
  
“That Tara Maclay didn’t deserve to die? Especially not like that?” snarks Alex.  
  
Maggie rolled her eyes. “No. Well yes. But you know that that’s not what I meant.”  
  
Alex smiled. “Fine, that you’re an adult and can make your own decisions,” she fake mocks.  
  
Maggie holds up a finger and wags it. “One, I do not sound like that. Two, sometimes I wonder why I deal with your smart-assery.”  
  
“You know you love it,” beams Alex.  
  
_Yeah, there’s more than that that I love_ , thinks Maggie, but just rolls her eyes and gives Alex a light punch on the arm instead. The detective finishes her last swig of beer, and sets it in the recycling bin with finality. “Alright, I’m ready to kick this werewolf thing in its ass.”

* * *

 

“Stop stressing so much,” reminded Alex from the other side of the door. She had snatched another beer once Maggie went into her room and was nursing it as she leaned against the closed door.  
  
“Easy for you to say,” huffed Maggie. “Do you know how many dots there are on my ceiling?” Alex just smiled and slid down to take a seat on the ground. “Ten thousand five hundred fifty… two,” came Maggie’s muffled voice from the other side of the door.  
  
“That seems like a gross over-estimate.”  
  
A peeved sigh. “My eyes might have crossed more than once while counting. Just give me the victory. At least I can do _one_ thing right today. I know I’m not perfect.”  
  
_Doesn’t matter, you’re still perfect to me._ “Alright, then Sawyer. Gold star. I’ll hang your certificate on the fridge.”  
  
Maggie chuckled. “Why thank you, Danvers.” A silence stretched between them, one of many that had occurred for the past few hours as Alex allowed Maggie space and time to try and incur a transformation. “I should really vacuum under by bed more often,” quipped the detective.  
  
“As much as I love hearing anecdotes about your bedroom, maybe you should stop trying so hard to transform.”  
  
“But that’s the point.”  
  
“It’ll happen eventually. The moment I stopped fighting the changes, I could better control them.” Alex took a sip of beer and frowned at the empty bottle. “The shiftings are a part of you, an extension of yourself. You can’t wrestle it into submission.” The agent uncrossed her legs and stretched forward, giving her back a quick break. “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”  
  
A beat of silence. “Did you just quote Sun Tzu? You really are a nerd.”  
  
“You recognized the quote. So, who’s the real nerd?” countered Alex with a sly smile.  
  
“Touché.”

* * *

 

There was a loud crash from the other side of the door. Alex jumped up from her position, hand flying to her non-existent gun holster out of habit. “Sawyer?” Another, smaller crash. “Maggie? I’m coming in,” announced Alex, already twisting the handle.  
  
The agent opened the door to a scene that made her immediately whip out her phone and snap a picture. The noise had clearly come from the toppling of a bookcase. Books were pooled around Maggie, now in her wolf form. The wolf was panicking, flitting around scooping up a book into her mouth and trying to set them in a pile. At the entrance of Alex, Maggie turned to face the door, _Where the Wild Things Are_ (of all books) situated loosely in the detective’s jaws and a look of guilt and surprise painted across her face.  
  
Alex smiled and hit the shutter button again on her phone. The wolf in front of her narrowed her eyes as if to say delete it. “No way, Sawyer,” smirked the agent. “I’m hanging _this_ on your fridge to celebrate your milestones into werewolf-hood.”  
  
Maggie dropped the book from her jaws and lightly pounced on the agent, intending just to bump Alex, but misgauged her strength and fully knocked the agent over. The detective cocked her head to the side and let her tongue loll out. _Whoops_.  
  
Alex laughed, true and uninhibited. Her heart swelled with pride for Maggie. The detective had accomplished something that had taken Alex a year to even attempt. And somehow Maggie maintained her dignity and grace, despite how clumsily she handled her wolf. In that moment, all the emotional distress being around Maggie gave her melted away. She finally had someone to share the experience of being a werewolf with, something Alex had once called a burden, but now she had to label as nowhere she’d rather be.  
  
Perhaps it didn’t matter so much that Maggie and her weren’t a couple, because this relationship was more than Alex could ever hope for. The agent had thought it time and time again, but she’d say it once more. If swallowing her romantic feelings was what it would take to keep Maggie in her life, she’d trade her heart in for a watch and call herself Tin Man, because never had the detective meant so much to her as she did in the moment.  
  
The agent extracted herself from under the wolf and gave Maggie a quick scratch behind the ears. Alex didn’t miss the quickening wag of Maggie’s tail from the action. The agent straightened her clothes and mock dusted herself off. She took a moment to take in Maggie as a wolf. The detective sat on powerful haunches, tail swishing back and forth over the floor. The fan spinning overhead rippled her dark chocolate fur ever so slightly. Strong powerful jaws were relaxed in a wolf equivalent to a ghost of a smile.  
  
Alex had never taken time to see another werewolf up close. There was the werewolf that changed her, but enough adrenaline and bad memories had almost wiped the details of the encounter from her mind.  
  
“This is great!” finally remarked the agent. Maggie held her head higher, prouder. “I’d just suggest moving anything valuable and breakable into a safe place that requires opposable thumbs,” grinned Alex.  
  
Maggie let out a breathy bark and slid into a laying position. “I’m serious,” says the agent, hanging her jacket on Maggie’s couch. “I found myself sleep-shifting after I managed to change on my own.” Maggie cocks her head to the side in disbelief, ears flopping with the motion. “No it’s true. Kara opened my door one morning and I hopped out of bed, not realizing I wolf-ed out during the night. I broke my lamp and cracked my laptop that I’d fallen asleep with.” Maggie’s tail wagged with laughter.  
  
The detective stood up, her muzzle just reaching Alex’s midsection. Maggie gave the agent a little nudge. “What?” Another nudge towards the door. The signals clicked in place and Alex grinned. “I’d like nothing else.”

* * *

 

After overcoming the challenge of sneaking a large wolf into an elevator and through an underground parking garage, then some finagling with putting all but the diver’s seat down in Alex’s car, the two had arrived deep in the woods and Alex happily transformed. Over the years, the agent had come to accept her transformations. She’d even enjoy them at some moments, but never had she been happier having someone by her side. Kara was a safety blanket of a companion, and it was always reassuring having her superhero of a sister with her, but with Maggie it was a whole new world.  
  
The two sprinted through the forest, occasionally stopping to tackle one another in a playful fight. Alex froze, catching a scent. She peaked her head out from under Maggie’s underbelly, and blew wisps of fur out of her face. The agent glanced around, dashing out from under Maggie’s hold. The agent followed her nose, and sure enough, a few lengths away sat a squirrel.  
  
Alex grinned, her sharp teeth glittering in the light. She turned back to Maggie and swished her tail, issuing a challenge. The detective flicked her own tail across Alex’s nose, a clear “Challenge accepted.”  
  
Maggie shot off towards the tree, leaving Alex blinking away dust for a few heartbeats before she followed. The detective stumbled slightly over a fallen tree and Alex quickly took advantage, gaining the lead. Maggie narrowed her eyes, muzzle forming into the wolf equivalent of a frown. She’d been the scrappy underdog of a rookie back in her days as a beat cop and blown everyone’s expectations out of the water. She could do it again. A wolfish grin appeared on Maggie’s face as an idea bubbled into her head.  
  
The detective watched as Alex’s muscles tensed, ready to jump. Maggie took the opportunity and headbutted the DEO agent in her side, intending to throw Alex off balance. The plan backfired though, and the two both tumbled to the ground in a mass of fur and paws.  
  
The two wolves, who were tangled into an odd ball decorated with dirt, twigs, and various leaves, were silent for a few seconds before erupting into a fit of odd barks and yips, which could only be described as laughter. Alex’s head popped out from under Maggie’s tail just in time to watch the squirrel they were chasing chatter angrily before bounding away into the tree tops.  
  
After the fit of laughter subsided, the two managed to untangle themselves with a shared a look of amusement. Alex shook herself, causing bits of forest vegetation to fly in every direction. A lone twig bounced off Maggie’s snout and the detective scrunched up her nose in mild annoyance. Alex flattened her ears and ducked her head. _Sorry._  
  
Maggie cuffed Alex across the ears with a playful paw before sprinting off, pausing a few lengths away to look back with a “Catch me if you can” stance.  
  
Alex blinked once. Twice. If she looked up perfect in the dictionary, she’d swear she’d find this moment in time as the definition. Maggie raised up on her back legs, bouncing her front paws on the forest floor, impatiently re-instigating the chase. Alex shook her head to clear the golden aura she swore Maggie held about her and bounded off in pursuit.

* * *

 

“That was incredible!” grinned Maggie as she entered the passenger seat of Alex’s car.  
  
The agent beamed back at her with an equal amount of euphoria before sobering for a moment. “I know this isn’t the easiest… thing to get used to. It’s a big life change. But I just wanted to say how lucky I am that you’re the one I can share this with.”  
  
Maggie froze, her wide grin faltering. _Oh no,_ fretted Alex. _You had to go and make this romantic._ Alex scrambled to perform damage control. “I… I just mean that it’s great having you as a friend,” proffered the agent.  
  
Maggie’s smile faltered even further. _Right, of course she meant it as friends, Sawyer,_ self-reprimanded the detective. “You... you’ve taught me so much. I wish I could return the favour.”  
  
“You already have,” reassured Alex, turning onto the main highway. “What you did for me. Helping me through discovering myself…” _Being the root of that discovery_. “…and just being there. It’s more than I could ask for.”  
  
There was a stretching silence between the two as Alex drove them back into town. The agent knew _something_ had transpired between them during that conversation, but what, she couldn’t put her finger on. It was clear Maggie’s thoughts had shifted. About being a werewolf? About their friendship? The agent didn’t know.  
  
Maggie broke the silence first. “Well, do you want to hit the bar after we eat? I’m sure this calls for some celebration.”  
  
Alex smiled softly. She could use a drink right about now, but sharing one with the one person she still needs to wrap her head around? It probably wasn’t the best of ideas. Alex glanced to her right and took in Maggie’s expectant face. _Suck it up, Danvers,_ she tutted to herself. _You don’t need to put yourself first. Today is Maggie’s victory to celebrate._ “Of course,” agreed the agent.

* * *

 

Alex sighed into her fourth taco. “I don’t even know what sort of signals to send, let alone receive,” grumbled the agent. “Kara tried to be my wingman once, despite my best efforts to say no, but I suppose it’s the blind leading the blind. She’s just too… enthusiastic?”  
  
Maggie chuckled. “Okay, that settles it. You, me, the bar. Run home and change into something nice. This. This I can teach you.” _I would_ — “Any girl would kill to be with you.”

* * *

 

“Come on, Danvers. You’ve got to have a type. Everyone has a type,” insisted Maggie.  
  
_Yeah, you’re my type._ “I just haven’t thought about it.” _Being anybody but you._  
  
“You keep telling me to look inside myself and truly get to know the new me. Well? Physician heal thy self.”  
  
“That’s different! That has to do with the wolf,” complained Alex. Maggie simply raised a challenging eyebrow. “Fine.” Alex rolled her eyes and took another sip of her beer as she scanned the occupants of the bar.  
  
“How about her?”  
  
“Are you asking me or telling me?” asked Maggie.  
  
Alex grumbled. The detective was making this harder than it should be. “Telling you?” Maggie raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘Really, now?’ Alex sighed in exasperation again. “I just wasn’t expecting to go out tonight. Maybe I’m just not in the mood to chase tail.”  
  
“We’ve been chasing tail all this afternoon,” quipped Maggie.  
  
Alex raised an eyebrow, and took a sip of her drink to mask the smile threatening to break through. “Wow, werewolf humor. And you call me out science puns.”  
  
“Okay, maybe our joke telling skills aren’t top notch. But you look amazing,” gushed Maggie. “It would be a shame to waste that.” The detective scanned the room. There wasn’t anyone catching her eye either. _Except the stunning agent sitting right next to her._  
  
“I don’t know, Sawyer, it’s just that…” _it’s hard imagining anyone measuring up to you._ Alex sighed. “I just don’t know.”  
  
“Come on, check out that girl at my 2. She’s been eyeing you for the past twenty minutes.” _And it’s really been annoying me_. “You should give it a go.”  
  
Alex glanced over but could barely muster up the energy to thoroughly check anyone out. “It’s been fun, but I think I’m going to call it a night.” Alex flagged the bartender over and pulled some bills out of her wallet. “Drinks are on me tonight. Sorry I was a bit of a downer.”  
  
Maggie hastily gathered her jacket and scrambled after the agent. “Hey, Danvers, wait!”  
  
The two stopped outside of the bar door. “Thanks for everything today Sawyer, really. I had fun.” The agent raised her hand and flagged down a taxi. “And I’d love to run with you next full moon,” Alex smiled, a tinge of sadness blocked it from reaching her eyes.  
  
Maggie scrunched eyebrows in confusion. _Where did that come from?_ “Yes, of course, I—” but Alex’s cab door had already closed.  
  
The detective stood there in the cold, jacket wrapped tight around her wishing to be back in her fur coat, carefree, chasing squirrels with Alex. It was easier as a wolf. There were no past relationships to worry about, no baggage she had to be afraid of. It was simply enjoying the company of one another. As a human, it was constantly worrying about messing their friendship up with complicated _feelings_. As a wolf, emotions ran high and it was so easy to _love._  
  
Maggie’s breath caught in her throat. She knew she had feelings for Alex. She’d tried so hard to not let them affect Alex’s own coming out, but she never admitted it out loud. That feeling… It’d been there all through the long hours of working the Cadmus case together. It’d been there when they were captured and Alex’s safety became paramount to the mission, to National City, to everything. And it was there today running along side Alex and wanting the moment to last forever.  
  
“Shit,” cursed Maggie lightly, the word pouring out in a foggy cloud. She managed to mess up a relationship she wasn’t even officially _in_. She felt like a complete idiot. Maggie tucked her hands deeper into her pockets. This time, though, Alex wouldn’t be another one that got away. She would _try_ this time. Because Alex was worth it.

* * *

 

Maggie Sawyer woke up the next day to loud, incessant knocks on her door. The detective rubbed sleep out of her eyes and shuffled towards the door. After getting home late from the bar and then spending hours trying to plan how to tell Alex about her feelings, she only managed a few hours of restless sleep. Maggie unbolted the door, eyes still bleary from sleep. Before the detective could even turn the knob, the unstoppable force that is Kara Danvers breezed through her door.  
  
“…and then I come home to Alex on her couch watching _The Princess Bride_ and eating Rocky Road ice cream and she only does that if she’s really upset… and then she gave me that frown that she doesn’t want to admit is a frown and… How dare you!... Because then she—”  
  
“Woah, slow down Little Danvers,” Maggie protests, her sleepy brain unable to process the whirlwind of words coming out of Kara’s mouth.  
  
Kara took a deep breath and straightened her glasses with a huff. Her hands were placed sternly on her hips in a frightening rendition of a protective Supergirl. “Alex doesn’t deserve this,” she stated simply.  
  
Maggie sighed and ran a hand through her bedhead. “I know.”  
  
“You can’t just toy—” Kara stopped and straightened her posture, hands falling to neutral at her sides. “Wait, you know?”  
  
“Yes, I know. I’ve… I’ve realised how stupid I’ve been. Alex is… She’s an amazing woman and I…” Maggie faltered. She wasn’t sure how to proceed. This was Alex’s little sister after all.  
  
Kara’s face softened, then morphed into a glowing smile. The superhero surged forward and embraced Maggie into a bone crushing hug. “Kara,” squeaked out the detective.  
  
“Oh, sorry,” giggled the younger Danvers’ sister. “I’m just so happy for you two.”  
  
“But I haven’t even told—”  
  
“Oh you _will_ ,” threatened Kara, her presence darkening for a moment, just enough to remind Maggie she could throw the detective into space without breaking a sweat. The cheery smile returned heartbeats later. “But for now, I’m glad. Alex has always looked after me. She learned to put others first. It’s what makes her so good at her job. And such a wonderful sister,” added Kara with an upbeat lilt. “But that means she’d place her own happiness before that of others if she thinks it’s the right thing to do.  
  
“So this _thing_ you two had was tearing her apart. You’re her pack now. Something she’s always wanted since that werewolf attacked her six years ago. And I understand, because I don’t know _what_ I’d do if Superman wasn’t around. She will protect that relationship against everything, even herself.”  
  
“So… She… You’re sure she still likes me?” chokes out Maggie, feeling elated and breathless and ten years old all over again.  
  
Kara rolls her eyes and smiles. “ _Yes_. You should see her face when she talks about you. And trust me, she talks about you a lot.”  
  
“But… how do I tell her?”  
  
“Pizza,” states Kara simply.  
  
“It’s…” Maggie glances down at her watch. “It’s seven in the morning.”  
  
“Breakfast, lunch, or dinner. A Danvers will never say no to pizza.”  
  
Maggie smiles. “Okay, pizza it is.”  
  
Kara nods approvingly and adjusts her glasses once more. “But just so you know, if you hurt Alex again, I’ll burry you in a mountain, then throw that mountain into the sun.” The detective nods hastily. Kara beams and hugs her again before skipping out of her apartment.  
  
Maggie is left standing in her pajamas, hair mussed with sleep, and an extremely surreal feeling, because Kara Danvers, Alex’s younger sister, the Girl of Steel, Supergirl herself just gave Maggie the shovel talk.

* * *

 

Maggie Sawyer stared down the brass numbers “4A” denoting Alex’s apartment for what felt like an eternity. She could do this. She’d been shot at. She’d gone undercover in drug busts. She punched Lillian Luthor in the face. She was a _werewolf_ for pity’s sake. She could tell a beautiful, caring, smart, kickass, woman how she felt.  
  
Alex Danvers paused the movie she was watching when a knock sounded on her door. “Hey,” the agent answered the door with a mix of surprise and panic. “What… what are you doing here?”  
  
Maggie offered a soft, comforting smile and motioned to the pizza in her hands. “I came to talk to you.”  
  
“I… um, yeah. Yeah, sure. Come in. What is it?” Alex stepped aside from the door and motioned the detective inside. The agent took the pizza from Maggie’s hands and placed it on the counter.  
  
“I realized something yesterday. I’ve been an idiot.”  
  
“No, Maggie, you—”  
  
The detective silenced Alex with a wave of her hand. “What you told me, before yesterday. Before Cadmus. You were angry at me for calling you out for liking me. For pushing you to come out to your family…”  
  
“Maggie, no it’s not like that. I’m glad. You helped me understand a part of me I never thought I’d get. I’m over it. We’re friends. And I wouldn’t change that for the world.”  
  
“Yeah, but you would.” Alex opened her mouth to protest again, but the detective continued on. “I spoke with Kara today.” At the mention of her sister the agent’s face flew into a worry. “Don’t panic. She just helped confirm some things. I said that I heard you, back then. When you first expressed your feelings towards me. But I didn’t. I didn’t really. Because here’s this wonderful, beautiful, _amazing_ woman laying her heart on the line for me and all I could think about was my own failures. My own baggage. I thought you deserved someone better than me. I was terrified by the fact that you came out for me and I just… ran away.  
  
“It wasn’t fair. You stood on the front lines fighting and I just ran. But these past few months with you. Working against Cadmus together. Learning to be a werewolf… It’s made me realise something. I care about you. A lot. I don’t have many people to tell that to. You’ve become really important to me. And I don’t want to lose you.”  
  
Alex stands there stunned, tears threating to form. “So... so you’re saying…?”  
  
“What I’m saying, Alex, is that life is short. And we should be who we are. And we should kiss the girls that we want to kiss... And I really just want to kiss you.”  
  
It happens like a dream. Alex’s brain only just begins to process that: _She likes me. She_ likes _me._ Before Maggie’s lips are on hers and all coherent thought is lost in a sea of happiness and warmth. Because no, she takes back her definition of perfection. It’s here. It’s now. It’s being kissed by the most perfect women she knows. It’s feeling loved. It’s with Maggie.  
  
They break apart and Alex wears a look of befuddlement and pure bliss that causes Maggie to grin even wider. “So… you like me?”  
  
The detective laughs. “Yes. I like you a lot, Danvers.”  
  
Alex blinks, still breathless. “Wow. I never thought… I never thought that such an amazing… beautiful, _perfect_ woman such as yourself would love me back.”  
  
“I’m far from perfect,” blushes Maggie. Alex catches the detective’s chin lightly in her hand as she turns away.  
  
“I beg to differ,” whispers Alex, as if anything louder would shatter the moment. _She needed to make sure this was real. She needed…_ the agent leaned forward, capturing Maggie’s lips in her own once more. _Oh, it was perfectly real._  
  
Maggie stares into Alex’s eyes with a smile so wide it hurt. She wasn’t sure whether to cry, or shout with joy. “That’s pretty gay, Danvers,” Maggie snarks with a watery laugh.  
  
“That’s the point,” snipes Alex playfully back, a grin of equal measure adorning her face. The two revel in the moment, twin thoughts spinning through their heads. Because being here, together, feels like coming home.

* * *

* * *

 

Alex Danvers’ life is strange. It's unusual and downright insane to some outsiders. She works for a secret organization that deals with the extra normal and the extraterrestrial, her sister is an alien that routinely saves the world, and Alex herself is prompted every full moon to change into a giant wolf.  
  
But it’s this life that brought her to Maggie Sawyer, and she wouldn’t change that for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _End_
> 
> It's been a joy writing this piece and I'm sad to see it go. Thanks so much for all the kudos, comments, and putting up with the long wait for the final chapter!


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